Daria's World
by Baelparagon
Summary: In the wild the strong dominate the weak, and get to set the laws and morality. Daria learns ths early on, and strong or weak, nothing and no-one will stand in her way. Rated T for later violence and serious situations.
1. Chapter 1: Two fists and a Greeting

**Hey there fellow Daria fans, this is the prologue for my first Daria Fanfiction ever. This is partly to test the ability to submit stories but also to try my hand at something new. I hope I wrote it well and that you all enjoy it. **

"Innocence ends once reality makes its presence known to us, seeking to burn it from our souls. Then we either rise from the ashes, or join them"

-Author unknown

Prologue

**Two years before Start of Series: Highland, Texas**

Daria was walking dispassionately down the road from school as the two morons were following behind her, grunting and muttering as they always did. They were saying the usual dumb things with an occasional sexual or insulting, but as usual Daria had tuned it out. Eventually they reached the turn off to her house deviating away from the perpetual slackers.

"Well as much as I've enjoyed feeling my brain cells wither and die from being ear you both, I suppose I'll have to wait till tomorrow to finish them off. Later." Daria said as she walked away from Beavis and Butt-head, the two saying goodbye to 'Diarrhea" in their own fashion.

The fourteen year old girl sighed as she headed back towards her house, already knowing what awaited her. She would do her homework for an hour or two before turning back down for dinner, that being either half frozen lasagna or some abomination made by her father. As she would attempt to stomach down the food her mother would give a halfhearted attempt to make conversation with her between talking about how much work she was doing and dealing with Jake's outburst. Daria in turn would give away very little, knowing any attempt at actual conversation would be stolen away by the redheaded little brat who called Daria her cousin. Then it would be reading in silence in her room before bed and before you knew I her day would start all over an. No friends, a family that barely even registered her and an evening solitude with her books. Some life she ha-

"GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKER!" Daria jerked out of her self-reflection to watch as two older men were chasing down a young blond redneck down towards her. Upon looking closer Daria recognized the running man as Todd, the small time gang leader who was always picking on Beavis and Butt-head. He always acted so tough when he was taking money or food from the two oblivious idiots.

He didn't seem so tough today though, his hair was disheveled and his usual sunglasses were missing, replaced instead by a pair of black eyes and a bleeding nose. He was sprinting away from the two burly black wearing thugs heading towards his car. Despite the obvious physically damaged shape he was in he had a decent lead on the two and looked like he was going to make it.

Years later Daria would never understand why she did what she did. Maybe it was some misplaced sense of loyalty she felt to her two drones; maybe it was to put this arrogant wannabe gangster in his place. Maybe it was for nothing more than her own amusement.

All she knew was years later she would always remember the satisfaction she felt tripping him over her steel toed boot.

Todd fell to the ground his face smacking off the pavement as blood spurted out of his nose and mouth. He looked up at the teenager who tripped him, mouthing bitch at her, he couldn't speak the words themselves before attempting to stand up and keep running.

This attempt was quickly ended as the two men caught up to him, knocking him into a fence near the sidewalk and wailing on him. As the larger of the two held him up to the wall by the smaller one began pounding into him, the sound of meat harshly hitting meat playing out in the air. Daria for her part knew she should have felt sick at what she was seeing, but for some reason she couldn't look away. She found herself leaning against the fence, watching the two reduce the delinquent to a bloody pulp. Even as Todd tried to talk between the blows the larger man began to speak.

"You think you could welch on us you little shit, or Mr. Novak? Bet that didn't work the way you thought did ya?" Holding up a hand the little guy stopped hitting Todd, allowing him to slump to the ground. The big guy dropped to his knee, grabbing Todd by his hair and lifting him up by his hair. "You got three days to get the money, or you'll have to drive your shit heap of a car without thumbs, understood?" Todd with what energy he could nodded his head before dropping it back down to the pavement. As the man stood back up a white car pulled up to the curb, horn giving a honk at the two men. Wordlessly they turned and entered the vehicle, sitting in the shotgun and backseat by size.

Thinking the show was over Daria sighed and turned away, not hearing the backseat window of the car rolls down. An old yet even toned voice stopped her in her tracks. "Excuse me young woman, might I have a moment of your time?" Turning back she saw a bald old white man with sunglasses and a business staring out at her, face set in an emotionless expression.

Going against everything her mother and common sense told her, Daria walked over to the car, close enough to see but far enough away if she needed to run. The old man noticed this and almost seemed to smirk, but his face never lost its expression.

"You did me a favor kid, can I ask you why?" Daria shrugged her shoulders in reply, her eyes already starting to show boredom with the conversation. "Don't really know, does it matter? I have to get home and do homework."

The large of the two thugs who was sitting next to the old man began opening his mouth to speak, but the old man silence him with an upraised hand. The way he silenced his underling with a single motion struck Daria, showed her the kind of respect this man held. "Got a bit of a mouth on you don't you?" the old man said with a chuckle. Reaching up to his face he removed his glasses, exposing the pale icy blue eyes. The kind of eyes that froze grown men's blood and perhaps even paralyze them on the spot.

Daria stared back at the man, refusing to answer his question. "Are we done here sir?" The old man simply nodded, putting his glasses back on. "I suppose we are, miss?"

"Daria, Daria Morgendorffer." At this the man's eyebrow rose in surprise. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a Helen Morgendorffer would you?" Daria nodded her head, suddenly feeling nervous for the first time since the conversation started.

"Yes she's my mother. Umm, may I ask how you know her Mr.?" The old man chuckled, running a wrinkled hand over his scalp. "Forgive my manners young lady. Novak, Jimmy Novak. As to your question I've employed your mother and her firm a few times in, ah **business** deals. She's quite the brilliant lawyer if I say so myself. But I've wasted enough of your time with pointless banter. This is for your help." Reaching out he held a $100 bill to her, which she took and pocketed with a nod.

"Say miss Morgendorffer, this may seem a strange question but do you happen to play chess?" The girl nodded, her lip unconsciously tugging up at the mention of the game. "I used to play in the chess club, but nobody would ever play me. Losing a lot tends to cause people to build a grudge for some reason." The old man grinned, his teeth reminding her of a shark who just happened across a beach filled with overweight and asthmatic tourists. "In Highland park I go there every Thursday and Sunday at four to play for a few hours. You're welcome to try your luck if you wish. Now I bid you a good day."

Saying this he turned his head away and the window rolled up, just as the car took off down the road. Daria looked down half absently at the $100 bill in her hand, then back at the still groaning but unconscious form of Todd. She then pocketed the cash and went on her way.

A single moment can define a person's, can mold and shape the path they'll eventually go down. Todd's was set the night he saw his father abandon his family in the dead of night, never to return. If a person thinks hard enough they can look back and see this one moment. If they can't it simply means they haven't experienced it yet.

For Daria meeting Jimmy Novak wasn't her moment of clarity. It simply opened the door for that day.

**Well I hope you all liked the prologue for my Daria Fanfic, coming soon to a theatre in hell. This is an alternate universe Daria, so while I'll be following some of the episode guidelines of the series this will be darker than the original series. This idea was inspired by the story God save the Esteem, and I hope to get close to the level of greatness that story had. Thanks for reading and see you at the next update, oh and feel free to critique if you wish. I'm always open to self-improvement.**


	2. Chapter 2: Self-Destroyers

"The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see - every scrap, even the longest and most boring of luncheon parties."

-Graham Greene

**Episode 1: Self-Destroyers**

* * *

"Girls, I just want you to know your mother and I realize it's not easy moving to a whole new town… especially for you, Daria, right?" Jake said as he drove behind the wheel of a blue sedan. Lawndale High was just starting to crest over the next hill, jutting out like a broken bone.

"Not really Dad, different town same hell or so they say." Jake gave a half-hearted attempt of laughter at the joke, but found it died on his lips. Clearing his throat he continued on, not noticing Quinn raise the volume of the radio. "I'm just saying you don't make friends as easily as… umm some people."

Daria rolled her eyes at this, looking at the redhead sitting in the passenger seat. "Gee, I wonder which people you might be possibly comparing me to?" Jake realizing the slip tried his best to backtrack. "Come on Daria you know I don't mean that…necessarily." Turning down the volume he cleared his throat again, ready to continue his futile efforts to be a good father. Daria for her part decided for once not to turn up the radio on him as her sister had.

Leaning her head back one could see her almost unnaturally pale skin contrasting with the dark clothing she wore. In lieu of her old green jacket was a black collared short sleeved shirt, the collar and two stripes on her sleeves the color of fresh blood. Her wrists had a pair of grey wristbands on her arms, as well as two silver rings on her left hand. While her skirt was still black it now reached all the way to her black boots, but the bottom of the skirt was jagged and sloped, similar to one might see on a witch. As it was the only bright part of her whole outfit was a blue pendant with a silver loop worn around her neck, the blue crystal sitting just below the collar bone.

"The point is, the first day at school is bound to be difficult for both of you, please be patient and let the kids warm up to you. I just want you to do well kiddo." Jake said as he pulled up to the curb of the school with two grey wrist clasps Quinn immediately got out, and from what Daria saw, already was on the fast track up the social hierarchy. Daria in turn opened her door, only pausing to speak before walking off unnoticed.

"I think I'll do fine dad, though I don't know if others will see it that way. See you dad." As Daria walked off Jake was happy to pull away and get lost in his usual oblivious haze at his daughters positive words. A small part of him couldn't shake the cold effect his daughter still had on him, but this part as always was ignored along with reality.

* * *

Daria and Quinn were walking with a group of other incoming freshman and transfer students through the halls of their new high school. They were lead on a tour through the various buildings by a small yet stern looking Asian woman named Angela Li. Daria had only spent a half an hour listening to this woman, and already had to resist the urge to push her down the stairs. She reminded her of some of the clients her mother worked for in the past, fake and slimy. Judging from her classmates bored expressions, they either saw this as well or were to dim to realize what was glaring in their face. Either way.

"As you can see our Lawndale High students take great pride in their school. That's why each of you will be taking a small psychological exam, to spot any little clouds on the horizon as you sail the seas of, Lawndale High." Principal Li stated to the students as they stood outside of the counselors center, stating the last two words almost reverently.

"So you'll know which prisoners are safe to be released society, and which ones to administer the Ludovico treatment to." Daria said from the middle of the group, but was not responded to in any way. As the student's began to filter into the office, Principal Li cast the dark clothing girl a last glance, before striding down the hallway.

_So she did hear huh? Good. _

"Nobody told me there'd be a test." Quinn said contemptuously, stating it out loud as opposed to actually asking her sister. Daria didn't respond to her, simply walking past her and into the office.

"Hey wait for me!" Quinn said as she walked behind her, feeling affronted by the lack of response.

* * *

"Alright Quinn, tell me what you see in this picture?" Ms. Manson said as she held up an ink blot in front of the girl, Daria sat next to the redhead, bored out of her mind. It hadn't been five minutes and already she could tell how "skilled" this supposed counselor was.

"It's a guy and a girl talking." Ms. Manson smiled, Quinn's charm and looks having hooked in another sucker. Ms. Manson continued the analysis which was clearly scripted and had been read hundreds of times. "Very good Quinn, and what are they discussing?"

"Umm, I shouldn't technically be taking this test. I haven't had a chance to study yet." Ah Quinn, showing how both brilliance and idiocy could be wrapped into one sentence.

Ms. Manson seemed to think so as well, making a face before continuing. "You won't be graded dear."

After giving an affirmative and began to blather Daria tuned her out, in order to preserve her sanity. Scanning the room she noted the different psychology and self-help books on the shelf. At the sight of _The Secret _she had to resist the urge to gag. One thing did catch her eye though, in every psychologist and therapist's office she had ever been to (and thanks to her mother she'd been to several) they'd have their different diplomas displayed on their wall, usually in the most prominent and extravagant way possible. In several cases one of the first things the doctors had often done was to tell her of their qualifications in order to assure her (and themselves) of their abilities to "help her". Ms. Manson's office on the other hand…

"Alright Dora, let's see if you have an imagination as vivid as your sister's." Shaken out of her thoughts Daria looked at the middle aged woman sitting there expectantly. "It's Daria."

"I'm sorry, _Daria."_ The woman said in a condescending tone. "What do you see?" Daria pretended to squint at the picture, before answering "A herd of wild ponies running free across the plains."

Ms. Manson's face went blank at this in confusion, then looked at the picture to make sure she had the right one before speaking "Umm there aren't any ponies, it's two people."

"Last time I took one of these test they said they told me they were clouds. They said they could be anything I wanted." Daria said in her monotone voice.

"That's a different test dear. In this test, they are **people**, and **you **tell **me ** what they are saying." The counselor said in a voice similar to one would use if they were speaking to a toddler. Daria frowned at this, although only Quinn who had been around her sister could tell. She also made sure to edge away a little, not wanting to draw herself into the line of fire.

"Oh I see, alright then. It's a guy and a girl, and they're discussing why they have to sit in an unethical psychological probe by someone with little empathy or the needed psychological skills to analyze a toddler, let alone an incoming class of teens with potentially serious issues in their lives."

The room was dead quite for a minute, Ms. Manson simply staring at the gothic girl before her with shocked eyes. Then after the minute was up her eyes and mouth began curling into a sneer, placing the ink blot back on the table with her hands clenched like a pair of talons.

In response Daria only smiled, sure the counselor was pissed and would no doubt give her a bad review to the principal. However Daria also saw she had touched a nerve, as well as fear. And fear was exactly what she was going for.

* * *

At the ringing of the three minute warning bell the gathered students in history class were taking their seats when Daria entered the classroom. Scanning the room she saw the only unoccupied seat was at the front of the class next to a heavy set Goth girl. _Well, might as well get acquainted with the other social outcasts._ Walking over she lifted the desk portion of her chair and sat down, taking her books and notebook out. As she began to scribble between the lines Andrea looked over, seeing the dark illustrations on the sides of the paper.

"Cool doodles, reminds me of the cemetery on a dark knight with all the Victorian architecture." The girl said looking at one of the pillars marking the side of the paper. Daria looked over at the girl with the Egyptian styled eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"You know about Victorian architecture? Do you happen to draw it?" Andrea shook her head, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

"Me personally, no. That girl in the red sitting back there is the talent behind my knowledge, best artist in this school." Daria looked to where the girl was pointing to see the so called Jane sitting a few rows back. Jane waved back with a cheeky grin, a motion that Daria acknowledged with a nod.

"So if she's the artist, what exactly does that make you?" Andrea was pleasantly surprised by the bluntness of the question, but before she could answer it she heard the tell-tale grumbling if her teacher coming down the hall. "Teacher's coming, I'll tell you later tomorrow when we're all together."

This comment came off as weird to Daria. "What do you mean by that exactly?" Andrea gave a small smile, sitting back in her chair. "I see you don't how things run here, let's just say if you act like this all the time, you'll be receiving a phone call later this evening, courtesy of our **wonderful** counselor. The names Andrea Hecuba by the way." The Goth girl said holding out her hand. Daria stared at it distrustfully for a moment before returning the gesture, the strength of which surprised the larger girl.

"Daria Morgendorffer, so what's this teacher like anyway, kind but weak or hardass with embittered feelings."

"Class, we have a new **STUDENT **joining us today. Please welcome Daria Morgendorffer. Daria please raise your hand." _Hardass it is._ Daria thought as she put up her hand. She had to stop herself from flinching as the man immediately called on her. "Well DARIA, as long as your hand is raised, last week we began a unit on westward expansion. Perhaps you feel it's UNFAIR to be asked a question on your first day in class?"

"I'm game if you are, Teach." Mr. Demartino's bulging eye shot out in surprise/frustration, but besides that he didn't lose his cool. "Daria, can you concisely and unemotionally sum up for us the doctrine of Manifest Destiny?" Mr. Demartino spoke off quickly, sounding almost unintelligible to most of the students in class.

"Manifest Destiny was used by Anglo-Saxon Protestant settlers in the 1840 have to expand out westward into the United States to the Pacific Ocean. They believed that god gave them the right to take the land and holdings of the Native peoples who already lived there. This was often done through coercion, swindling and sometimes even downright lethal force. As you can imagine the native people were hardly consulted on this matter, but as long as the survivors would bow down to Christianity, the settlers were seldom bothered."

Mr. Demartino didn't show it, but inside he was cheering with joy. For once a student who didn't need to be potty trained. Still, he would have some fun at her expense.

"Very good and thorough explanation Daria, but I asked for the answer unemotionally. Although I'll forget it this time considering the emotional nature of this topic." Daria nodded as she sat back, eyes dropping down to the desk a little. "I'm sorry."

Now Mr. Demartino felt a little bad, but more importantly he couldn't risk her silencing herself. Not if he was going to survive another yea with Kevin and Brittany. "There's no need for that Daria, it's uhh good that you can feel some plight to the native people."

"No I mean…" Daria said as she looked up, the odd angle she held her head casting a glare on her glasses which blocked her eyes, failing to match the small but shark like smile that appeared on her face. "I mean I apologize for appearing emotional. Often times people mistake my indifference for my empathy, tends to happen when you say uncomfortable truths no one wants to hear." Having finished what she was saying (as well as driving up the blood pressure of an almost fuming teacher) she dropped her eyes back to her desk, where she continued to make doodles of him with an overgrown eye absorbing his body. Jane Lane and Andrea Hecuba for their part couldn't help but grin. Things were finally looking interesting.

* * *

In movies and books one of the most depicted scenes in any family is the gathering of the family for supper. And why not it can often be an interesting time in a person's life. Families get together to gripe about their concerns, deep seated grudges and psychological scars threaten to boil over only to be saved at the last minute by a well cooked meal. Dinner time for most families often served a double role as both a time to eat as well as family therapy.

For Daria dinner time only represented interrogation masquerading as "family involvement."

"Then I was asked to join the pep squad, but I said listen, give me a few days to get my bearings around this school before I sign onto anything. So for now I'm just the vice president of the fashion club." Quinn stated with all the cheer and charm she could muster.

"So I assume if someone makes the mistake of wearing a plaid skirt with an orange top it'll be your job to strap the jumper cables to their legs?" Daria said from behind the pages of her Sick Sad World newspaper. Before Quinn could respond Daria's mother Helen decided to intervene.

"Daria don't start, we've all had a long first day and I don't want to hear you two fight. Anyways how was your first day at school dear?" Daria lowered the newspaper, giving her mother a flat look.

"We'll besides the local visit to the shrinks office and the discovery of my teacher suffering from PTSD I've had a great day mother. And how are things at **the firm?"** Daria said stating the last part of the sentence in a hoity toity voice. Helen's eyes narrowed but for the sake of peace she didn't respond back, at least not now.

"Come on now Daria, give your classmates a chance, I'm sure there must be some of them who you are interested in." Helen said, sending a pleading look at her older daughter.

"Perhaps, but I imagine the number of them is equivalent to the number of healthy potatoes available In Ireland during the Great Famine, or at least the same percentage." Daria said with finality, flipping the newspaper back up to read. Helen felt her lip curl up, just about had it with her daughter's attitude.

Thankfully for both of them Jake decided at this moment to come out of his oblivious state. "Hey that's great kiddo. I'm glad to hear your making friends."

Helen was about to **correct** her husband when the phone went off, Helen immediately dropping into her lawyer/courtesy mode. Hello? ...Yes. ...Uh, yes, she's my daughter. ...I see. Listen, will this require any parent-teacher conferences or anything, and if so, is this the sort of thing my assistant can handle? ...Okay, great. Bye!" Helen returned to the dinner table. "You girls took a psychological test at school today?"

"They said we wouldn't be graded!" Quinn complained, jumping to the conclusion she had failed again.

"Daria, they want you to take a special class for a few weeks, then they'll test you again." Helen said as she sat back down at the table.

"YOU flunked the test?" Quinn said with a great amount of mirth in her voice.

"She didn't flunk anything. It seems she has low self-esteem." Helen said the last part in a drawl, as if somehow expecting the answer.

"What, that really STINKS Daria!" Jake yelled out, slamming his hands down. Daria sighed putting her newspaper down, sensing this wonderful meal was at its end.

"Easy Jake, focus." Helen said to Jake in a voice eerily similar to the one Ms. Manson had used on Daria earlier today. "We tell you over and over that your wonderful and you just…don't …get it. What's WRONG with you!?"

"Is she going to have like a break down or something? Because, that could really hurt me with my new friends." _Ah Quinn, always looking out for number one._ Daria thought as her face formed a sneer, the irony of her parents complete ignorance of Quinn's behaviors in favor of her own supposed flaws was not lost on her.

Standing up she folded the newspaper under her sleeve, walking away from the table despite Helen yelling at her to come back. Going up the stairs she entered her new room with its unpacked boxes and mat covered walls. She knew the boxes were filled with many books and macabre art pieces, she would have to sort through them later, her goal was at something far more valuable to her.

Reaching into a hidden place inside the space of the wall she pulled out a small picture of her and an old man sitting at a table with a chessboard at it. The old man had a pair of shades and a grin on, while Daria looked like her normal self when she had been wearing that horrid yellow jacket. Only if one was to look closely would they notice the slight uplift of the corner of her lips in the frame.

Setting the picture down on her desk she turned on her computer, one of the few things she had bothered to unpack since arriving here. Once the word program was up and running she began typing the names of the people she had met so far. They were in no discernible pattern, other than Angela Li being at the top of the paper as she moved or arranged them, so similar to that first day….

_-2 Years Earlier, Tuesday September 23__rd_

Daria walked into Highland Park at around 4 pm after school, a bit more nervously then she'd like to admit, but the day was sunny and the park had always been an area of relative safety in a city filled with rednecks and lowlifes. Children played in the nearby playground while a few couples walked through the park together, caught up in the good times.

The area she was looking for was in the most shaded part of the park, where a number of small stone tables were set. A few old men were sitting their playing anything from chess to cards and if she had seen correctly even a game of Jenga. She saw the man who had introduced himself as Jimmy Novak and his two associates sitting with a spacious area to themselves, as well as a third man she had not seen before. While the two men were both wearing similar clothing to what she had first seen them in, black t-shirts and pants, this man was a bit more well dressed in a black sports jacket with a red turtle neck underneath it. He was sitting across from Jimmy and a chess board, and from what she could see was losing pretty badly. The other two men sat to the side, one of them talking on the phone while the other man was reading a newspaper.

"Ah Miss Morgendorffer, good to see you took me up on my invitation. Tony, let the young lady have a seat, you're going to lose in three turns anyway." The man in the sports jacket grumbled a little, before getting up and moving over to the table with the other two men, stealing a section of the paper from the one reading it. Daria sat in the chair across from Mr. Novak, legs crossed together as she observed the man.

"Can I offer you something to drink Ms. Morgendorffer? it is a hot day out after all." He gestured to a cooler that was next to the other men. Daria shook her head no, hands folded in her lap. "With all due respect sir, I don't take things from people I don't know well enough. And could you call me Daria, Ms. Morgendorffer makes me feel old."

"Of course Daria, but only if you call me Jimmy in return. Now you were telling me you play a good game of chess. I know this may sound stupid but tell me, which piece is the most important one in your army?"

Daria frowned at this, she was never one fond of easy questions. "The king of course. Should he fall you lose the game."

Jimmy smiled at her sass, picking up the crowned king and holding it up. "Yes the king indeed. The king is often a great representation of many people in the world. CEO's, presidents and other powerful individuals. Sometimes their kingdoms are small, other times large, but they always rule it with an iron fist. Only another king can hope to challenge them. Now, which of these next sets of pieces are the most important in the game?" Jimmy said this as he placed his king down and moved a pawn forward, then touching the clock sitting next to the board

Daria thought about the question for a minute, staring down at the pieces. She knew when he said set he didn't mean the queen, but it was hard to decide which ones could be the most useful. Finally she reached down and jumped her horse over the pawn line. Jimmy lost his smile a little, but only by a little bit.

"Interesting choice, may I ask why you chose that one?" Saying this h jumped a pawn forward two spaces forward, as opposed to the one he did earlier. Daria responded with a matching move, allowing her bishop an open lane.

"The knight is an unusual piece, it's hard to move properly but is an excellent piece to trap your opponent or force them to change their strategy." They began to play faster, making moves and removing pieces over the next several minutes. The three associates stopped what they were doing and watched, as well as several of the other men playing at the different tables.

"Not a bad answer child but I'm afraid I disagree, the pawns are the next most important." He caught her bishop with his queen, placing it on the side.

Daria raised an eyebrow as she took one of his knights with a rook, threatening his left flank. "The pawns, how are they the most important? They can only move forward and can only attack in a diagonal. They're the weakest unit in the game."

Jimmy nodded at this, sliding his bishop between two of his pawns taking her rook away. "Yes but the pawns are also the most numerous of your units, and represent the defense of your king. Sometimes you use them to trap your opponent's special pieces, other times you try to advance them forward or promote them. They allow the special units to operate and can even become them with enough skill. And almost always, the pawns are the first to go, be it forward or to their doom."

Daria frowned at this answer, but inside she was smiling, she was actually getting a challenge. "So how would you deal with your opponents pawns then?" Her knight advanced forward, putting his king in check.

He switched it with his rook, dropping the king behind a trio of defending pawns. "Sometimes you ignore them, sometimes you block them, and other times you eliminate them. The key is not only to use your own pawns well, but to force your opponent to use them poorly. A king who cannot use his pawns properly will never be able to keep hold of his special units. And with it will come his defeat. Checkmate." He said this as his pawn made it to the other end, turning back into his bishop.

Daria found herself staring at the board, eyes scanning for a move that just wasn't there. Her king was caught between his two bishops and the queen, with her own pawns preventing her from moving him out of the way. Looking up she saw the sun was going down, the game that had felt like minutes had almost nearly been an hour. With a sigh she reached forward and pushed the king over, signaling her defeat.

"How…did you do that? I thought I had you, I had more units left over." Jimmy smiled as he motioned to the man named tony, the latter helping the old man rise to his feet. "I'll teach you if you want me to kid. Knowledge should always be shared with those worthy to wield it. What do you say?" He extended his hand forward, offering it as one opponent did to another worthy adversary. Daria felt like he was offering more than just chess lessons, and for a second a part of her felt hesitant to return the gesture.

But she really wanted to know what he knew, as much as she pretended not to care she **hated** to lose. She reached forward and shook his hand, and he drove her home. When her mother asked where she had been she didn't lie, she simply said she'd been playing a chess game.

_-End Flashback_

Daria stared at her computer, where she had listed the names of the people she had met or heard of in the school. Few people knew this but Daria had an eidetic memory, allowing her to remember and store information with ease. It would take her time to process all of this information, and more would be necessary but right now she had to names written down.

Angela LI: King

Ms. Manson: Pawn.

"The pawns go first."

* * *

"Esteem, a teen, the two don't quite rhyme do they? Often times it's the same way with a teen and self-confidence, the two just don't always go together."

The class sat back and listened to the man drone on in silence, bored out of their minds. Daria couldn't blame them, she had been sitting there for two minutes and she already wanted to end her suffering.

_At least Andrea gave me a warning about this, not that it did much good at the moment. Let's test the waters a little bit._

"Excuse me, I have a question." She said raising her hand. Mr. O'Neil saw the incoming question and did his best to deflect it. "Oh I'm sorry I'm afraid answer and question time is later."

"I want to know what, realizing your actuality, means." Daria said, watching the teacher do his best not to squirm.

"It means…look, just let me finish this topic and then there'll be a video." As the teacher began to drone again and proved his incompetence Jane leaned forward and whispered to Daria. ""He doesn't know what it means. He's got the speech memorized. Just enjoy the nice man's soothing voice."

"Your Jane Lane right? Andrea mentioned you in class yesterday." Daria indicated to the Goth girl sitting in the back next to a blonde in a leather jacket who looked like she was only half there.

"The dark queen is right, Jane Lane at your service. Artist, sloth and TV enthusiast. And don't worry about studying for this class. I've taken it six times." Sitting back

Jane looked down at her note sheet and began drawing her doodles. Daria couldn't help herself, she took a peek at the caricatures of Mr. O'Neill. They were brilliant.

* * *

Once the class was over Daria found herself walking back to her house with Jane and Andrea, as well as the blonde girl who had introduced herself as Jennifer Burns. She smelled a bit like the reefer, and if Daria hazarded a guess that might not be the only thing. Still Daria found the girl to be decent enough, if a little quiet.

"So, then, after the role-playing, next class they put the girls and the guys in separate rooms and a female counselor talks to us about body image."

"What do they talk to the boys about?"

"A classroom full of guys and a male teacher?" At this point both girls stopped walking and at unison voiced their thoughts. "Nocturnal emissions."

"Lane here has taken the course enough times to pass this course in her sleep." Andrea said, eyes squinting into the receding light.

"I'm surprised that she hasn't already. Why don't you just pass the course Jane?" Daria asked looking over at the raven haired shrugged her shoulders, Daria's house starting to come into view.

"I could pass the test, but I like having low self-esteem. It makes me feel special." It was at this moment that Jennifer, who had been quiet since the start of the conversation decided to throw in her two cents.

"Plus it helps you keep out of the popularity power struggles. When those girls at the top try to outbitch each other they tend to squash those beneath them. Low level scrubs like us would be seen as collateral damage to their games."

"Not to mention it helps keep the pervs and horndogs in this school away. They want to go after a seemingly easy girl, as opposed to a damaged one. Ultimately it's a win-win." Andrea said a small snarl in her voice as she said this. The group came up on their house, where Daria saw her mother's car parked in the driveway.

_She's never home before six o'clock. This can't be good._ "Umm could you all wait here for a moment, I'll be right back." The girls looked a little confused by the request but nodded their heads in assent. Daria walked over to her house and entered, finding her mom waiting in the living room.

"Hi, honey." Helen said in her most motherly voice, which was often a voice she used for Jake.

"Mom? You feeling all right? It's not even 5:00 yet." Daria asked, taking note that while she was home she was also in her business attire.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off to help you deal with your self-esteem problem." Daria frowned a little at this, her hand tightening on the strap of her bag.

"I don't have a self-esteem problem, the counselor is incompetent at her job and I am perfectly confident in my own self-worth. So no need to try and patch up my psychological scars, I wear them with pride."

"Daria." Her mother said in a tone slightly harsher than normal. "You may not have confidence issues but I don't like this attitude of yours. A little mother daughter bonding will do you some good." Daria saw her usual avoidance tactics wouldn't help her here, so she decided to go for a different tactic.

"Umm mom I'd love to, but I told Jane and the others I'd go with them to their house to look at her artwork. I don't want to make a bad impression on them." Helen looked past her daughter to see three girls standing outside of her house waiting patiently. The motherly and the lawyerly side of her struggled between spending time with Daria or letting her expand her list of friends. In the end the latter of the two won out.

"Alright you can go, but I expect you at home before ten o'clock, is that clear?" Daria nodded yes and turned to leave, only to watch as her mother pulled a twenty out of her purse and held it towards her.

"Quinn is out with her own friends and your father is cooking. Treat your new friends to some dinner alright?" Darian nodded her head and thanked her before going back outside and walking off with the three.

Helen watched her walk off, with a lot of pain in her heart. She knew Daria hadn't wanted to leave Highland, but it was for the best of everyone. She had a better paying job and Jake had used up all the contacts he could back in Texas, he needed to move or risk going under.

And Helen was finally able to get rid of that _man_ from Daria's life.

* * *

Daria and the others sat in Jane's room watching sick sad world. Jane and Daria were sitting on the bed, Andrea had pulled up a chair and Burnout girl was sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Thanks for the slices amiga, although don't think you can just buy our loyalty with sliced pepperoni and sauce." Jane said as she bit into the cheesy part of her slice.

"Yes that requires Ice cream and vodka to seal the deal." Andrea said with a grin, while Jennifer nodded her head in a sage manner.

"Yeah right I'm not buying you squat, this is on my mother's dime after all. Do you mind if I ask you all a question?" The three girls sitting down around her looked at each other for a moment before nodding their heads, looking at her expectantly.

"How does someone like Ms. Manson keep her job when she is clearly terrible at it? Isn't there supposed to be oversight for this sort of incompetence?" Andrea sighed, dropping her slice from her lips and back into the box. "Ms. Manson's an idiot, everybody knows it despite how she squawks about studying at Harvard. But Li uses her to put the undesirable elements out of public circulation and out of the way."

"Wait, Manson brags about studying at Harvard?" Daria's eyes glinted at this, ignoring the last part of Andrea's comment and focusing instead on the first bit. Jennifer nodded her head, swallowing her last bit of pizza. "Yeah, it was one of the first thing's she did when I went into the room. What she didn't tell you the same thing?"

Daria shook her head, a small smile forming on her face. "No, I was in there with my sister, she probably didn't want to look like a brain in front of her. Hold on one second." Reaching into her bag she pulled out a laptop and once she got it on she began typing away furiously, pulling up a number of different tabs on her explorer.

"Interesting, most of the teachers and faculty have a listing of the college that they graduated on their profile but Ms. Manson's only says she studied at Harvard." Jane looked over her shoulder and stared at the site, watching as she pulled up a records research company website.

"Interesting Daria, but what's the point of all of this? And is that site your on even legal" Daria turned to the girls, staring at the three hopefully. "In regards to what info I'm looking for yes, although I won't do it without your consent. If my hunch is right I can get us a ticket out of the self-esteem purgatory for about fifty bucks, you in?"

Andrea and Burnout looked excited at this, the two had tried before but they could never bother to listen to O'Neill's drivel. Jane on the other hand looked a little hesitant. "I don't know, how would I spend my afternoons?" Daria smiled at this, gesturing to the TV with the Sick Sad World logo on it.

"Sci-fi conventions, or just watching TV. Whatever you want to do." Jane was in at the mention of Sci-Fi conventions, but then looked a little worried. "Sounds awesome, but we Lanes are not known for rolling in cash. It tends to get spent on paint and musical instruments."

"Afraid I don't have the money either, had to spend what I had left on a smoking misdemeanor." Andrea said, teeth grinding in frustration. Daria sighed somewhat expecting this and began reaching for her backpack.

"I can use my debit card to pay for what we need, you all can pay me back-" Daria found herself cutoff as Jennifer pulled a large roll of bills from her pocket, pulling a crisp fifty out and passing it to the spectacled girl. Daria admitted to herself she hadn't seen that coming.

"Umm thanks, I suppose we can pay you back at a-" Jennifer cut her off again, silencing her with her upraised hand. "You get me out of O'Neill's class I'll consider us square, English class is torture enough with him. Besides, you already paid for the pizza."

Daria nodded at the girl, then turned to the computer and ordered the record search. Within half an hour a ping went off and the girls looked at the computer, smiling at what was sitting on the computer.

* * *

The next day Daria and the others were walking through the hallways, headed towards Li's office. Up ahead about five classrooms from Ms. Li's Quinn was leaning against the wall, with a boy leaning up against the wall near her.

"So... like, what do you like to do after school?" The guy said trying his best to sound interested, although the fact that his eyes glanced downward every now and then gave that away.

"Oh, nothing special. Go to the movies... or, like, a theme park... or out for a really fancy meal now and then... or maybe go to a concert, if, like, I know somebody's got good seats and is renting a limo and stuff." Daria had to hand it to Quinn, she could manipulate anyone when they potentially had something they wanted.

"You hear that? He hasn't got a prayer." Jane joked to Daria, expecting a witty comeback from the dark girl.

"Tell me about it. That's my sister." Jane looked over at the girl with sympathy, while Jennifer had to stop herself from snorting at that. "Oh, bummer." Jane said with as much sincerity as she was capable of.

"So…like do you have any brothers or sisters?" The guy asked Quinn, attempting to come off as interested without realizing he was over in his head. The girls listened in, waiting to hear her nervously try to change the subject or divert the question.

"I'm an only child." Quinn stated in a no-nonsense manner. The three girls were scandalized to hear the girl so off-handedly dismiss her sister. What was more surprising though was how Daria continued walking on unfazed.

"Daria are you not going to respond to that? I mean that was pretty harsh of her." Andrea said casting a dirty glare back at the oblivious redhead.

"Why? She didn't say anything that neither she and I didn't wish for nor is it damaging to me emotionally. No need to pick a fight when you don't need to." Daria turned to walk into the office, when Jane placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

"Daria you don't really believe that. I mean she is your sister and she just denied your existence without even checking to make sure you weren't around. If any of my siblings did that to me I'd put my boot somewhere the sun doesn't shine. How can you just let that slide by?"

Daria sighed and took her hand off the door knob and placed it on Jane's, giving the hand a small squeeze before sliding it off her shoulder. "Simple Jane, the reason you'd beat down your sibling is because you love and respect them, and you expect them to treat you the same. Am I right?" Jane nodded, unsure of where this conversation was turning.

"In regards to Quinn she's my sister in blood only, I hold no warm feelings or respect for her and thus don't expect her to show me any either. Just because somebody's blood don't make them family. I'll see you all in class with the good news." Saying this Daria entered the office, leaving her new friends in silence.

* * *

"So Ms. Morgendorffer, is there something that you need? I imagine you won't want to be tardy to class." Li said as she sat behind her desk, staring at the Goth girl across from her.

"I was hoping you would give me a hall pass for that, considering the nature of the topic we'll be discussing." Li's eyes narrowed for a second, the woman leaning forward on her desk a little. "And what would exactly will we be discussing?"

"I believe that several students have been placed into your schools self-esteem class through improper diagnosis and procedure by Ms. Manson." Daria said staring ahead unflinching.

"Ms. Morgendorffer that is a serious accusation to make against a faculty member. Ms. Manson studied psychology at Harvard, and one who has been on my staff since I became a principle. I will not hear someone working for me slandered in such a way." Li said in a disapproving tone, intent on punishing the upstart.

"I understand the seriousness of this situation, but if you examine the majority of the students who are in those classes are from the unpopular section of the student body. This in spite of the numerous physical and mental obsessions held by those on the opposite social spectrum." Li sat back in her chair a little, eyes really focusing on the girl sitting in front of her. She had heard some adults give less cohesive statements than this girl.

"I see, you believe that Ms. Manson is being unfair in her selection of which students are put into the self-esteem class. I can assure you that even if such incidents are occurring it is not intentional on Ms. Manson's part."

"That I'm afraid is what concerns me." Daria nodded said at this before pulling a manila colored folder out of her backpack and setting it on the table. Li lost her smile as she picked up the folder and began thumbing through it. After a few seconds she began thumbing through it faster, her face taking on a look of concern. Daria smiled at this, seeing through the woman's fake attempts to appear innocent.

"These files…where did you get these files Ms. Morgendorffer?" Li asked using

"Through a public records website online. Ms. Manson's school files as you can see do prove that she studied at Harvard college, but she never graduated from there or any other college. She flunked out her junior year of college and never tried to obtain her degree. She must have forged her records to gain employment, I mean you would **never** willingly hire someone who was unqualified to be handle the severe issues teens often face in their lives." Ms. Li looked up at this, staring at the girl warily.

"Are you accusing **me** of knowingly hiring someone-" Daria raised a hand at this cutting the woman off. "Not at all, I just thought you'd want to know about this before I give this information to my mother at her law firm to present to the school board. Maybe even the superintendent of schools."

"Now Daria, if I might call you Daria." Li said with a slightly scared look on her face. Daria nodded at her, internally pleased to see the pressure being applied. "You don't need to present this to your mother, we take these matters very seriously and Ms. Manson will be fired before the day is over and a new counselor will be brought in. We can handle this internally."

"I don't know…" Daria said uncertainly, doing her best to hide the satisfaction she was feeling. "When she put me in that class she objectified me as something I'm not. I think I should at least let my mother know." Li sensing that the conversation was going in a conversation she **definitely **didn't want it to go, decided to appeal to a common human trait, greed.

"Daria this administration prides itself on cooperation between it's faculty and students, especially one as caring as yourself. Now, what do I have to do to keep this incident between the two of us?" Daria looked down for a moment, seeming to contemplate this.

"Well…I suppose if you'd graduate my friends and I from the class that would be a good thing. I mean I doubt we'd have found this out if we were lacking in self-esteem." Li nodded quickly, already reaching into her desk drawers for the necessary documents. "That will not be a problem, you give me their names and you'll all be out before the next bell. Now if that's all-"

"Actually…" Daria interrupted, sensing she could push her luck just a little more. "My friends and I had to spend some of our money to come by this information, would the school be willing to reimburse us for the trouble?" Angela almost instinctively said no, but stopped herself when she couldn't risk turning the girl away.

"Umm how much are we talking about?" Angela asked with trepidation in her voice.

The number she was given made her want to vomit.

* * *

"So I heard that Ms. Manson's career trying to keep us miscreants locked away is over. Andrea said she saw Ms. Manson being escorted off the school by the security. Guess we'll only have the displeasure of O'Neill's company once a day." Jane said to Daria as the two walked from the school, graduation certificates in hand.

"Similar to sleep, except much harder to stay awake. Plus we'll be able to use these certificates for some good brownie points with the folks." Jane grinned at this, the two headed for home.

"Yeah I'm sure I'll be able to, once my parents return from their painting commune in the woods, which should be in about three weeks. So wanna go to the sci-fi convention tomorrow?" Jane asked as they neared the Morgendorffer residence.

"Sounds like a plan to me, oh that reminds me." Daria reached into her backpack side pocket, handing the girl $25 dollars. "Thanks…but what is this for?" Jane asked confused by the generosity.

"Your cut of the reimbursement money courtesy of Angela Li and Lawndale High. I told her how we got Ms. Manson's information and "persuaded her" to cover our expenses. I already repaid Burnout girl and Andrea so you were the last one." Daria said, a small bit of pride in her voice.

"Thanks but why am I getting $25 dollars, it only cost you fifty to…oh." Jane said with the same realization of someone who had just learned that cars needed gas in order to drive. She recovered quickly, a cheeky smile on her face. "Oh your just a crafty little devil aren't you Ms. Morgendorffer?" She said mimicking

"Yes, and I have one last act of evil to commit before turning in, I'll see you tomorrow Jane." Saying goodbye Jane walked down her street, leaving Daria to enter her house as the sun began to set.

* * *

"Daria we are so proud of you, graduating self-esteem class in less than a week is quite the accomplishment. Between that and your new friends we're glad to see your adjusting so well." Helen said to Daria as she and the family all sat around the table.

"Well I couldn't have done it without the support of you and Dad." Helen beamed at the comment, missing the irony that Jake was half asleep at the table.

"Maybe but still, it's something to be very proud of, Quinn aren't you proud of your sister?" The redhead half nodded, eyes focused on a magazine on the table.

"Yeah she's out of the weirdo club, that's great." Helen slapped a hand to the table, causing Jake and Quinn's heads to pop up. "Do not belittle your sister Quinn, you apologize immediately."

"Don't worry about it Mom, I'm sure Quinn didn't mean to insult me, did you Quinn? You were just happy for my newfound independence and social standing right?" Quinn nodded her head, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Of course that's what I meant. I would never mean to hurt your feelings."

Daria nodded, before a large smile appeared on her face, one that eerily reminded Quinn of the time Daria had crashed her party with her two idiot cohorts. "I thought so, well since that's the case can you explain that comment I heard you say earlier to the boy hitting on you? I'd like to know what you meant by it."

She took a recorder out of her pocket and placed it on the table, pressing the play button. **_"So…like do you have any brothers or sisters?"_** **_…"I'm an only child."_** Quinns face had gone ash white and her eyes wide as saucer plates, while Helens had become enraged, eybrows crossing and her face the same shade as a tomato. Jake for his part looked very lucid and very scared. Daria took back the recorder and put it in her pocket and stood up from the table.

"on second thought, I think I'll let you explain it to Mom and she can tell me later. It's been a long day and I have homework to do. Goodnight."

As Daria walked away Quinn was left alone with Helen. Ascending the stairs she could just barely understand what her mother was incoherently screaming at Quinn, the words shameful brat being the last thing before she shut the door and walked over to her desk. She stared at the paper for a minute before taking a pen and crossing Manson's name off the sheet.

She hadn't lied to Jane or the others, her opinion and respect for Quinn was non-existent. But just because she held no respect for Quinn or her opinions didn't mean she'd allow her to disrespect her in public.

**"HOW CAN YOU DENY YOUR SISTER'S EXISTENCE!?"** This shout was then finished with the sound of a plate smashing against the wall, Daria smiling in response as she turned on her TV.

And judging from the sound of her mother's screaming, Quinn wouldn't be able to insult her for weeks to come.

* * *

It always bothered me that Daria brought up the only child comment at the table and Helen never reacted to it, so I decided to change that. See you at the next update.


	3. Chapter 3: The Invitations

Opportunity may only knock once, but disaster is a god damn woodpecker.

-Author Unknown

**Episode 2: Invitation to Doom**

A couple weeks had passed by since the only child bomb had been dropped, and the ashes hadn't quite settled yet. Quinn had been forbidden to date anyone or go to parties for two weeks, and was forced to do Daria's portion of chores for the duration.

This was all secondary in correlation with the largest punishment inflicted. Helen invited all of Quinn's friends over and introduced herself to them, as well as their oldest daughter. It didn't take long for Sandy and Tiffany to spread the word around that the popular new girl was sisters with a brain. While this had gotten her a little ridicule from some of the cattier girls, but was largely ignored by the boys which in terms of popularity was the most important. The girl without a date was the girl at the bottom of the food chain.

It was for this reason among others that she did not want Daria to be seen with her.

"Stop following me, Daria. Why are you following me?" Quinn said as the two headed towards Lawndale High.

"We go to the same school, genius. Or maybe you're confusing me with your cousin?" Quinn was about to respond to her "cousin" when a trio of boys ran up to the girl. Daria immediately recognized the worship in their eyes that had become so common in many of the boys in Highland.

"Hey, Quinn, can I carry your books?" The first of the three said, a redhead with short hair

"Hey, Quinn, can I carry your... pencil?" The next one looked like a smaller, slightly tanner version of Kevin. If it wasn't for these two things and the missing shoulder pads he would have looked like his brother.

"Hey, Quinn, can I carry your, uh, um... got anything else?" A blond with an ear stud asked, a happy grin stretched across his face. Not wanting to leave the boy out she reached into her back pocket and gave him a scrunchie.

Now Daria was not above demoralizing and humiliating a person, but even she would never convert a guy into a clothes mule. "Well, try not to hurt yourself with that scrunchie. See you later "sis"." As Daria was walking away she could almost feel the heat coming from Quinn's glare.

"Is that your sister?" Daria looked back just enough to see the blond talking to Quinn, without drawing their attention.

"Don't pry, Joey." Quinn reprimanded the boy similar to how a master might discipline a butler when they crossed a social line. Daria expected the boy to be cowed into line without complaint.

Of course every now and then Daria could be surprised. "I'm Jamie." The blond said in a frustrated voice, clearly this wasn't the first time she had gotten his name wrong, or it was a recurring problem he experienced for years.

"Whatever." Quinn said with the usual amount of compassion she was capable of before turning to head to school. Daria however was long gone. She saw a new piece of information the board, what she could do with it she wasn't sure, but she filed it away for the time being.

* * *

"Very good Daria, the way your picture swirls into the center is very realistic. Like I'm actually being drawn into the picture" Ms. Defoe said as she looked over Daria's shoulder at the picture she was writing.

"Thanks, it's always been my dream to become a siren drawing wayward sailors to their doom." The words were sarcastic, but had a tone of playfulness to it. Ms. Defoe was one of the few teachers who were both competent and caring for her students. This along with her holding a fondness for the misfits in her class put her above the usual sarcasm she normally employed against the faculty. Instead she used a light touch.

Daria was sitting in art class drawing the image of a swirling vortex on a sheet of paper. Their teacher Ms. Defoe had assigned them a drawing assignment; draw something demonstrating a one point perspective. The exercise was quite simple; some like Daria and Jane did much better at it then some, although the latter was by far the superior artist.

Of course at Lawndale, some students like Brittany Taylor were struggling just to get their pencils to the paper. "Ms. Defoe, I need a new pencil I used up the eraser." Brittany said, showing her almost bare-bone pencil hovering over the monstrosity that had once been her paper.

"Here Brittany, take a new pencil and a fresh piece of paper and try again." Ms. Defoe said in an exasperated voice, and most likely not for the first time. Brittany's face became depressed at this, looking down at her paper.

"If I don't figure this perspective thing out I'll have to take remedial art class. I hear they make all the lefties become righties." Brittany said to Daria sitting on her right.

"But you are a righty." As if to remind the dumb blonde of that fact. Not that it helped, Brittany looked at both of her hands trying to remember which was which. After a moment she gave up and looked back at the brunette. "Daria your smart, show me how to do this."

Daria almost said no, her experience with popular girls had never been very enjoyable and so far Lawndale had done very little to change that experience. While the girls here might have had an ounce or two more in terms of brain cells did not make them any more kind. And cheerleaders were notorious for that particular trait.

But Brittany seemed too dumb to be intentionally mean, and from what she'd seen or been told Brittany seemed to be one of the nice one's. So knowing the ulcer she soon would be developing she started teaching Brittany baby step by baby step.

* * *

While Daria was giving middle school art lessons to the top heavy cheerleader, Quinn was making her own forays into the popular world channel. Unlike her sister however her movements were both intentional as well as much more practiced. Listening into the football players talking to themselves, she sidled up to the locker, giving them all a well-practiced smile while pushing her shoulders back _juuust _a bit. A move that immediately caught Kevin's attention.

"Hey Quinn, you want to go to Brittany's Party?" Kevin asked in his suave voice "Really? Can I?" Quinn asked faking her surprise at the question. Once Kevin gave his affirmation her loyal lapdogs immediately began circling and asking her out. She had said yes, and when asked to whom, indicated all of them.

I mean after all…"Quinn said with a smile that was both endearing and insulting. "You can't expect me to choose a boyfriend right away. That would be like eating the first pancake off the griddle, you have to feed one to the dog." Finished she walked away from the two with a slight sashay in her hips, drawing Joey and Jiffy's gaze almost unblinkingly. Jamey on the other hand, while enjoying the view, also had this small voice in his head that was bothering him about Quinn. At the moment though all he could do was stare with his compatriots, so he let the thought go.

* * *

Sometimes Daria really hated her conscience, it didn't speak up very much but right now she wished she could strangle it with piano wire. Following her almost futile attempts to teach Brittany she found herself walking with the airhead cheerleader into the lunch room.

"GROSS, I hate when the trays are all wet." Brittany said as she picked up one of the trays, shuddering at the clammy feeling. "That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Unless it cripples us." Daria said this last part in a whisper.

Brittany turned and looked at her a smile plastered on her face, missing the last comment. "Is that from a song? Hey, thanks for helping me out today."

"No problem." Daria said quietly, impressed that the popular girl would have such manners. "Maybe there's a way that I could help you." Brittany said as she placed a green Jell-O glob on her plate, it jiggled as it touched the tray.

"I suppose you could teach me to twirl my hair around my little finger and look vacant." Daria's sarcastic side said before she could shut it up. Brittany however didn't notice and began doing the exact described action. "I don't know if that's something you can teach."

Brittany picked up a pudding next and went to pull out the spoon, only to make a face as the C level food refused to let it go. "Yuck, I hate it when the pudding has skin." Daria grimaced at the sight, her hand pulling away from the desert tray. "I know what you mean, and that scares me."

"You know, you and I have some things in common." Brittany said as unused gears in her head began turning. "Like an aversion to disgusting cafeteria food?"

"I mean, you're not popular, but you're not too unpopular to go to my party this Friday." Daria was surprised at this, although not in a bad way. "Are you inviting me to your party on Friday?"

"Yes!" The blond girl squeaked, quickly writing down the address of her house and handing it to the girl. "But just this once though." Brittany said as she walked away Daria looked down at the paper before a smirk came on her face, pocketing the strip of paper.

"Oh don't worry, I can guarantee I'll only be invited once."

* * *

After school Daria and the others were hanging out in Jane's room doing their own activities. Andrea was writing down some poetry sitting on Jane's desk while Jennifer was counting and sorting a number of bills next to her, leaning back with a small blunt in the corner of her mouth. Daria and Jane meanwhile were looking over some of Jane's sketches.

"These are really good; I didn't know you drew life stills." Jane nodded at this, smiling as nostalgia hit in. "Yeah I learned it while I was at my parents summer retreat."

Daria turned a page to the next image, and almost immediately her eyes bulged out at the explicit image drawn on the page. "Some of your pictures are really…bursting out of the paper." Jane looked over her shoulder to see which image Daria was looking at. The image drew a sly smirk on her face.

"Yeah that model was particularly bursty. I think she had her **bursts** done." Jennifer gave a small snort at the comment, almost dropping the roll of bills from her hand. "Yeah, I'm sure you were focusing on the girl's artistic profile as opposes to her cheerleader qualities." Jane and Andrea both chuckled at this, while even Daria gave a small grin at the comment.

"Speaking of which, Brittany invited me to her party this Friday." The girls looked at her an incredulous expression on their faces.

"Brittany, the queen of the airheads invited you to a party. What else did the devil give you when you sold your soul?" Andrea asked darkly putting her book to the side. "Please, you don't think I'd bargain that badly do you. In any case the invitation was in thanks for helping her crawl through drawing class today. I'm rather surprised at the generosity, the head cheerleader I met in Highland asked me for help on her homework, and then tried to stiff me."

"She tried?" Jennifer asked a confused look on her face. Daria decided to clarify the story. "What she didn't know was I had photos of her cheating on her boyfriend with the head of the chess club. One mailed photo and my investment was returned twice over."

"So aside from the reminiscing of destroyed psyches, are you going to go to the party?" Jane asked, expecting the girl to say no. "Yeah, you all want to come with me?"

"You want to go to a party filled with preppy and spoiled popular kids? We're not going to end up on one of those crime shows depicting you slaughtering the young wholesome teens are you?" Jane said as she turned to her painting, dabbing her brush in black ink.

"Well I was planning to freak out the Fox news network, but since you asked I guess I'll just take the opportunity to meet my fellow classmates and leave the Uzi at home. And perhaps get to humiliate Quinn as a bonus. I bet you could get some great sketches there Jane."

Jane stopped drawing for a moment, gears turning in her head. "Popular posers posing all over the place without restraint or shame." She said the last word almost dreamily before turning to Daria, a grin on her face. "I'm in. How about you Andrea? Jen?"

The two looked at each other for a moment in silent conversation before turning and nodding their assent. "I suppose it would be an opportunity to meet some new customers in the upper echelons of Lawndale High." Jennifer said as she pocketed the freshly counted bills into her green jean pockets.

"Should I ask what type of business that might be?" Daria asked, having an idea of it herself but curious none the less. Jennifer grinned and pulled a small paper shaped into a small bowl out of her pocket and tossed it to Daria, a familiar smell wafting off the paper. "Guess what I measure in this and you'll have your answer." The girls laughed at this, Daria's nose scrunching up in irritation at the smell, she tossed the paper back to the girl. "I suppose, although you might want to be careful who you sell to, some of them have a short enough attention span as it is."

"And with all the drinking there we might be able to stock up on some of the **refreshments**. Plus I might get to punch out some bitch if she sticks her nose in our faces." Andrea said taking a swig from a small flask in her pocket. She offered it to the girls who as a group shook their head no. "So the only question now is how do you get us in? We're not exactly on the guest list."

"Give me a day to think about it, I'll come up with something." Daria said as she took out her laptop, and began typing out her homework assignment for the night.

* * *

Having completed her homework assignment Daria slipped into the house. He saw his mother was home tonight so it would be frozen lasagna again for dinner. _At least it'll be something edible._ Moving up the stairs she passed by Quinn's room, seeing the vain girl holding up assorted clothes in the mirror.

"So, having people admire you in public isn't enough, you have to do it in the mirror now to shore up your self-worth." Quinn's face turned into a frown, her _loving_ sister was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

"Go away, I'm concentrating. There's a big party in Crewe Neck on Friday and I need to pick out the perfect outfit." Quinn said holding up a yellow shirt in front of her.

"T-minus 72 hours and counting. By the way, this party wouldn't happen to be at Brittany's house would it?" Daria asked, letting the chicken out of the coop.

"Yes and would you mind going away now?" Quinn said before a look of worry went over her face. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"Oh Brittany invited me and my friends, although we're not sure if we're going to go." Quinn, thinking about herself as usual fell right into the trap. "You can't go you'll ruin everything!" Daria put her chin in her hand seeming to contemplate this.

"We'll, I suppose I should try and broaden my horizons." Quinn walked out silently, throwing the shirt to the floor. Upon exiting the room she began yelling to Helen and Jake trying to get Daria blocked from going to the party. Daria allowed Quinn to talk herself into a corner and secured herself to go (though not without a promise to watch over Quinn).

After dinner she found herself in her room again, looking over the organizational charts she had written with everyone who was important names on it. Several first hand drafts were tossed aside, with people's names being placed higher and lower depending on her perceptions of them at the time. There was however still a lot of space left on the paper, one of these empty spaces now taken up with Brittany's name, a question mark in bold next to it. Daria hoped that this party would be a good way to fill up some of the empty spaces, as well as clarify a few of the other names. Angela Li was still sitting at the top, as well as Manson's name at the bottom which had been scratched out and now seemed almost forgotten.

As Daria began to rearrange the names a memory came to her again of the past, of another party…

* * *

_-Flashback 2 years ago_

"I said do you want to come to my birthday party on Friday?" Daria found herself looking across to a pretty blond girl, similar yet different to the Brittany Taylor she would meet in two years. This girl's face though was younger, with some of the baby fat still clinging to her cheeks, although puberty was beginning to drive that out as her cheek bones became thinner and her features started to develop. That and the red uniform she was wearing as well as the guys staring hungrily at her marked her as a future cheerleader of Highland High.

"I understand what you were asking me, I'm more curious as to why Nicole?" Daria asked as she put her books in her backpack, ready to walk down to the park and play chess with Jimmy. Nicole Preston simply smiled at her, her stance and features giving off a warm feeling. "Hey I know you and I haven't always had the best history, but I'd like that all to change. You're a cool girl and I'm sure my sisters would love to get to know you. So how about it?"

Daria looked at the girl unsure, the logical part of her was saying to her to kindly reject the offer and end the conversation. Girls like Nicole were dangerous in their own rights and for popular girls like her should be avoided.

The small, very small part of her though that wished she could fit in better however was feeling big today, and Nicole did seem very sincere…

"I'll ask my mom and think about it." Daria said as she closed her locker and threw her backpack on.

"Great!" Nicole said with a wider smile, something that suddenly made Daria nervous. "If you want to come my party here's the address. I really hope you come Daria." With that Nicole turned and walked away, her developing figure and hips drawing the attention of the boys and a few girls. Daria watched as Nicole hooked up with the other cheerleader girls in her squad, the group talking excitedly and laughing with each other.

There laughter wasn't kind or jovial however, and Daria felt her lip pull back in a snarl as the part of her who wanted to fit in promptly shut up.

* * *

"You okay kid?" Jimmy asked as he sat across from the girl, the two of them alone in the park aside from Tony who was reading the paper nearby. "I'm fine, why do you ask?" Daria said attempting to appear nonchalant moving a piece across the board.

"Well for starters you just moved your bishop like it was a rook. Something eating at you?" Looking down at the board Daria saw he was right in regards to the chess piece. With a sigh she moved the piece back to its place, taking a sip from a soda nearby. "Earlier today I got invited to a birthday party by this girl Nicole Preston."

"Preston?" Tony interjected, actually speaking for the first time in weeks. "The car salesman Preston?" Daria nodded not taking her eyes off the board as she moved a rook forward aggressively. "Yeah the big car salesman of the Midwest. You know him?"

Jimmy nodded, switching his king with his rook. "We've had some dealings in the past. The car I drive is one he…**sold** to me. Well this is a good thing isn't it? Being invited to a party I mean."

Daria gave a half bitter chuckle shaking her head. "Not with these girls, I know their type. Last year they bullied a girl online for a year before she eventually had a breakdown. They're inviting me to watch me fall; they think I don't see the trip line."

Jimmy was silent for a minute, a contemplative expression on his face. Taking a sip of his tea he placed the saucer onto the table looking her straight in the eye. "I think you should go to the party. Now Daria, just hear me out." Jimmy said when the girl was about to respond to his advice sharply.

"This girl Nicole in your generation is someone who holds power over you. Her popularity as well as her control over her peers can make her a potential enemy, or if you are wrong a potential ally. If you skip this party you don't avoid being caught in her web, you only skip by it for now. Worse, you will tip your hand to her and they will plan to humiliate you in an even worse fashion."

Daria was silent at this, sitting with her hands wringing in her lap. "Then what am I supposed to do?" Daria asked in a small voice, a small amount of sadness breaking through the monotone.

Jimmy smiled, reaching a hand into his pocket and placing what looked like two small black button with a USB keys on the side. Reaching forward he put it in the girls hand, closing her fingers over it.

"Go to the party Daria, speak with these girls and examine your surroundings. Find out their likes, their dislikes, their hopes and **especially **their fears. Everyone has a weak point. All you have to do is find it, and when you do…show no mercy."

* * *

Daria stepped out of Helens car, a small present in her hand and a backpack slung over her shoulder. Walking down the stone walkway she went up to the door of the old ranch style house. Almost immediately the door opened, a large man in a grey business suit standing there.

"You must be one of little Nicky's friends. I'm Don Preston, Nicole's father. I'm glad you came, she was really hoping you'd come." The man said, extending his hand out. Daria in turned shook it, taking some satisfaction from watching the man wince as she tightened her grip on it. Shaking his hand loose he gave a half smile while rubbing his wrist.

"Got quite the handgrip on ya little one. Well come on in, Nicky and the others are in the back yard." Daria nodded, handing the man the small package.

"Actually, I need to use the restroom first." Don nodded his head, arm pointing down the hall. "Not a problem, first door on the left next to Nicky's room." The man walked off, the slightest stagger in his movement. Daria walked down the hallway, then looking round ducked into Nicky's room. The room was a pink monstrosity as she expected it to be, covered in all sorts of stuffed animals and posters. Sickeningly the room reminded Daria of Quinn's room, if perhaps a little less tasteful.

None of this mattered to Daria though, the girl moved over to Nicole's desk where the girls pink laptop was sitting. Taking out the small device she pushed it into the USB slot in the back, the rounded thin top making it almost impossible to see. With that done Daria slipped out of the room and down the hall towards the back yard. Just as she was about to exit she saw Mr. Preston's computer sitting at the desk in the living room. Moving carefully she placed the other black spy device into the other computer before heading out the door.

"Daria!" Nicole said in an excited voice, coming over from where the other girls were. "I'm so glad you came, we're about to play a game." Taking the girls hand they ran over to the scene, the sunlight blinding Daria's eyes. Once her eyes had adjusted she saw the girls and boys standing in a circle. Daria edged up to the center of the ring, noticing one of the boys holding a rope.

"Hey Daria, we're going to try and hit open the piñata." Mr. Preston said with a smile. He walked up to her and put a blind over her eyes, and placed a bat in her hand. "Now we're going to spin you around and then you get three chances to hit the target. Alright?"

Daria nodded, lifting the bat up to her shoulder. Mr. Preston spun her around, the sense of vertigo making her dizzy. Finally after three or four turns she stopped spinning, staggering unsteadily left and right. Hearing the rope sliding on the wood she immediately swung the bat, missing the swinging object completely. The children around her laughed at her, Daria feeling her cheeks turn pink at the miss. She took another swing, feeling the bat clip the bottom of the piñata.

In response the piñata swung back before moving forward, smacking straight into the girls face. She tumbled back as the kids laughed even harder, finding herself being caught by Mr. Preston. With a snarl she stood up and went to swing again, but stopped as her blindfold slipped down part way.

Hanging in front of her was a pig piñata with yellow and black streamers wreathed over it. What really caught her eye though was the picture of herself covering the pigs facing, having been cut from the school year book photo. Daria felt oddly emotionless as she felt blood begin to pump through her veins, making her feel cold.

_I-I knew it. I knew they invited me over just to pick on me_. In the background she heard the laughter starting to peter off, but above it all she heard both Mr. Preston and Nicole's. _That __**bitch**__ set me up. And Preston, he knew…__** HE KNEW!**_

Before she realized what she was doing she swung the bat, aiming just under the piñata in a full circle and slamming the end of the bat into Mr. Preston's knee. Two things happened simultaneously, first the laughter automatically died, as did the look of joy on Nicole's face as it shifted into horror. Second Mr. Preston fell back and began shrieking, his knee completely shattered.

**"DAAADDYY!"** Nicole screamed as she ran to his side, the man screaming as he held his knee on the ground. Daria calmly slipped off the blindfold and placed the bat to the side, reaching up and taking the piñata off of the rope. Nicole looked up from where her father was laying, tears staining her face as she stared hatefully at Daria.

"You glasses brain wearing **freak.** How dare you hurt my father, when I get to school tomorrow I'm going to tell everyone what you did!" Daria didn't respond, choosing instead to walk by the girl. Just as she was passing by however she stopped for a moment before looking down at the two.

"I trusted you Nicole, against my past experience and better judgment. And in return you and your idiot father try to do this to me. Well allow me to make you a promise now, for what you have done I promise I will destroy you both." Daria made as if to leave, only to turn back to the father, a grim smile on her face. "Oh and Mr. Preston, Jimmy says hello."

Daria left the two on the ground and walked back through the house piñata in hand. Taking out her cell phone out she called her mother and then waited by the side of the road, already planning out how to give her mother her own _twist_ to the story for when she arrived. Fortunately the piñata would make her mother believe her side of the story.

As she waited she took the present in her hand and opened it up, curious to see what the present was. Inside was a silver pendant, small runic symbols circling it and a blue stone set in the middle. _Mom has good taste when she's not buying for me._ She stared at it for a moment, debating whether to smash it or not.

Hearing her mom's car come down the road she sighed before unclasping the necklace, wrapping it around her neck and standing up. Her mother opened the door ready to ask her what was wrong when she saw the piñata in her arm. Daria silently entered the car and indicated she wanted to go home. Helen could guess what had happened but for once did not press Daria. The only thing she did was take the phone call from Mr. Preston. Daria never heard the other side of that conversation but from her mother's words and threats she could guess. After that conversation she never had to worry about legal reprisal from the man.

In the following day Helen would get the story out of Daria, although the swing into the man's knee was told to be accidental. In the following weeks Daria would pilfer both computers sending all bully emails she had used against the girl to the principal. As weeks of evidence piled up Nicole found herself both socially and educationally, her friends abandoning her and the girl eventually being expelled. Nicole would be forced to change schools, cursing her fate and cursing Daria Morgendorffer.

Mr. Preston was not so lucky; Daria had dug up as slough of dirty emails and dealing from his computer over the next following month. Chop shop auto deals, sale of faulty car parts, and perhaps the strawberry of the cake, an intimate affair with his secretary. All of which was helpfully sent to both the Highland D.A and Mrs. Preston through a dummy email account in the public library. Faced with criminal charges, his name in disgrace and his wife taking him to the cleaners, he decided to take the single bullet way out. Sad though it was, it did make everyone's life a little easier, given the circumstances.

Reading about it in the paper the next day Daria couldn't help herself as a large smile stretched across her lips.

_-Flashback end_

Daria shook her head, looking down to see her hands clenched so tight around her pencil her knuckles had turned white. With a sigh she loosened her grip, placing the pencil on the desk. She had enough of reminiscing right now, she had a party to plan for. Checking to make sure her parents were gone to bed she picked up the phone nearby and pulled a slip of paper from her desk. Looking at the number she dialed it in the phone, putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello Mr. Dinozzo? Yes I'm sorry to be calling so late but Mr. Novak said to call you if I needed something? Oh yes sir last we talked he spoke very highly of you. Actually I need two things if you're able to assist me…"

* * *

Daria and her friends were sitting in Trent's car as they pulled up towards Crew Neck gated community."

"Thanks for driving us here Trent." Jane said sitting in the back with Daria and Jennifer. Andrea was seated in the front, a small cigarette in her lips with most of the smoke wafting out of the window. "No problem Janey, I needed a break anyway. I've been practicing for ten hours straight."

"Hey Daria." Jane said in a cheeky voice, hoping to embarrass the girl a little. "Would you say sleeping for ten hours straight with a guitar in your hand counts as practice?"

Daria shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, watching the houses get higher and higher in price as they approached the community. "I suppose it is if he plays it in his sleep and doesn't drop it, then it would count as such. Judging by the scenery this is where the elites of Lawndale gather to snub their noses at us lower class cretins?"

Jennifer nodded, pulling a small baggy of what looked like green mulch out of her pocket. "Yup, and we respond by selling "study aids" to their children. Got to love the system inequality." Trent sniffed the air, a pleasant smile coming on his face.

"Good quality stuff there, hey Janey we should pick some of that up later." Unseen by Trent Jane leaned over to Jennifer, a serious expression on her face. "Sell him anything stronger than that and you'll have to roll your papers in a cast."

"Relax Lane." Jen said as she pocketed the bag back into her coat. "This is the strongest stuff I got. It's profitable and the cops are pretty light on pursuing it. My uncle did a three year stint in the clink for having a gram of crack on him, so thanks. I'm too pretty for jail."

"Speaking of security…" Andrea said as she stubbed her cigarette out on the car door. "You figure out a way to sneak us in Morgendorffer?" Daria nodded as she rested a hand in her pocket. "Yeah I got it all set. The guard works for Ellington Security Company, my father has done some work with his employers in the past so they've instructed him to let you go in with me."

"Impressive." Andrea said looking back at her. "I didn't take your dad to be the kind of man with that kind of pull."

"You'd be right, Jake doesn't have that kind of pull." Daria corrected as the car pulled up to the curb. "Wait, you just said he-" Daria interrupted Andrea as she opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"Jake is my dad, both biologically and legally. That doesn't make him my father. Thanks for the ride Trent." Not bothering to wait she closed the door, heading straight towards the security station. Jane and the others walked up with her, curious about the cryptic answer she had given.

They watched as the guard had a line of people waiting at the crosswalk, going through them name by name. The man was an obvious lifer, he had worked this position for years and would likely die in the same position. Still with the body of a small gorilla it was easy to see how intimidating he could be to these young students "Nice try kid, there's nobody here by the name of Duke. Now you and your friends beat it." He grinned watching the group of freshman walk off, one of them crying quietly into her sleeve.

Daria walked past the line, ignoring the angry stares and outburst from the students as she stopped herself in front of the man. He looked down at her with an indignant stare, eyes peering down at her over the clipboard. "The back of the line's over their kid. Unless you're a solicitor in which case, you can take a hike."

"We're here for Brittany Taylor's party. She invited us personally." The guard snorted in disbelief, taking in the group's appearance as apparent outsiders. "Sure kid, you still got to wait in line like everybody else. You're a teenager not some-"

"The names Daria Morgendorffer, not **kid**. Mr. Dinozzo should have called here earlier today to say we were coming." At the mention of the man's name the man lost a little color, looking down at his clipboard to double check this. Seeing she was telling the truth he hastily apologized, raising the security bar for them to pass.

"Hey we've been waiting." One kid yelled out as Daria and her friends smugly walked in past them, Andrea turning and giving a very personal gesture to the one that had been talking. Once they were past the gate the bar slammed back down, the guard falling back into his original routine.

"Nice one Daria, or should I say madam Daria?" Jane said, truly impressed at the way the auburn haired girl handled the guard. "Do so at your own peril. And it wasn't much, guys like him are like dogs, you just have to talk to the person holding the leash."

The group found itself before the house, the nice building seeming to almost loom over the group. "We can still run if you want. After that display I doubt the guard would stop us." Jennifer said, edging closer to Andrea.

"Now Jen, just because people are rich and snotty is no reason not to like them." Jane said patting the girls shoulder. "Or hate them." Daria said deciding to throw in her two cents. Breathing in she reached up and knocked on the door.

Brittany opened up the door, a happy smile on her face. "Daria, you came I'm so happy. Umm hello?" the cheerleader said as she saw the other girls behind Daria, all of them giving her blank stares.

"These are my friends Jane, Jennifer and Andrea. I figured if I invited them then I would have some people to talk to." Brittany brightened up at this, opening the door even wider.

"Good idea, and this way the party balances out since there's so many cute girls here." Andrea frowned a little, her hand starting to rise for the **cute** girl. Fortunately Daria stepped inside, distracting Brittany from the almost murderous Goth girl. "Not a problem Brittany, hey can you point us in the direction of the drinks, I'm **parched.**" The ditzy girl happily lead the way, never realizing how close she'd gotten to being strangled.

Daria did have a sense of mercy and fair play, at least every now and then. Jane and Andrea followed her while Jennifer broke off the group, seeing some of her usual customers in the house. As well as interesting scene playing out in a nearby hallway.

Quinn watched this from across the room, feeling like her heart jumped up in her throat. She quickly ducked into a hallway, leaving the boy she had been talking to slightly confused. _Of all the times she decides to be social, it has to be when the fashion club is here_. Quinn began trying to think of ways to circumvent this when one of her future trained puppies ran up to her.

"Hey Quinn, I got you some soda." Quinn looked over at the glass, seeing Jeffy standing before her. "This ice isn't crushed." The boy immediately went off to crush the ice for her, but not before taking the chance to backstab Joey. _Alright now that he's away, what would be the best place to be seen but keep out of my sisters-"_

"Hey Quinn I got you some pretzels." Annoyed at the interruption she masked her face looking down at the offered snack. "I like my pretzels to be the bendy kind." Following the procedure of his friend he tore down Jamey before rushing off to do his impossible task. Quinn turned away annoyed rubbing her forehead. _Okay, she's going to go wherever the house is quietest, so the living rooms probably a good-"_

_"_Hey Quinn, I got you a-" Quinn turned around, her tolerance for interruptions having been met for the day. "GOD can't a girl have a minute alone for herself!?" Quinn stormed off and went into the bathroom, leaving Jamie standing where he was holding the cracker he was going to give her.

"I…just wanted to give you a snack." He said halfheartedly, looking down at the little circle of grain in his hand. He was about to eat it in frustration when a slim hand plucked it from his hand, drawing his gaze up to a slim face with long blond hair. "Thanks I've been craving these for a while now." The girl in the leather jacket said before crunching down on it.

"Umm… your welcome I guess. Your uhh…burnout girl right?" The blond nodded her head, swallowing the snack down. "I've gone by that alias before, I also have been known as Jennifer. Your name is…Jamie?"

Jamie smiled at this, pleased that someone actually remembered his name. "You said my name, somebody actually got it right!"

Jennifer simply smiled back at this, pushing one side of her hair behind her ear.

* * *

Daria, Andrea and Jane were sampling on the chips and treats by the table. "Even though she's an airhead, you got to give her credit in regards to the grub." Andrea said as she chomped down on some Dorito's. Jane simply smirked at this as she drank her soda.

"Yeah, shame her knowledge of snacks is only matched by her ability to back flip and show off her _assets_. So Daria, should we go join the drone's or stay by the safety of the table?"

Daria was going to answer, but stopped when she saw a red haired teen walking towards the trio, a sleazy smile on his face. "Good evening you lovely ladies. Chuck Ruttheimer the 3rd, and you are?" Andrea frowned at the red head, hand curling into a fist. "Beat it Upchuck, go creep someone else out."

"My how your words wound me, my dark mistress. I only wished to me your charming companions and perhaps, give you a tour of this lovely abode." Daria stared at the teen's ridiculous acting, a hard glint taking hold in her eye. "Alright, but only if you can answer two questions."

Upchuck nodded his head, excited to actually be getting positive attention from a female that didn't involve ridicule or pain. "Of course miss..?" The teen offered his hand to her, which Daria firmly shook it back. "Daria, the first question is a riddle. You can see me quite clearly, although I'm usually far away. Harnessed I can give you power, but if you attempt to hold me I will destroy you. What am I?"

Charles seemed to contemplate this for a few moments, internal gears grinding. He looked around the room for possible hints to the answer. Upon spotting Kevin almost knocking over a lamp he grinned and turned back to the girl.

"Electricity, the answer is electricity." Daria nodded, walking up to him and putting a hand in her pocket. "Good boy. Now for the second question I'm going to whisper it in your ear." Andrea almost felt bile rise in her throat at the thought of any female that close to Upchuck. This quickly changed to confusion as Charles turned pale at the whispered words. Daria drew back, a predatory smile on her face.

"Is everything alright Charles? Should I repeat the question?" Charles shook his head, slowly backing up from the girl. "No no, that won't be necessary, y-you just have a good night." Charles said before turning and almost running out of the room.

"Jeez Daria, I've never seen Upchuck flee like that. What did you ask him?" Jane said, an impressed yet wary tone in her voice.

"I just asked him what the most logical response a male would have if a police grade Taser was applied to his balls. I don't get why he failed to answer it." Daria said with a shrug, feigning indifference.

Jane and Andrea laughed at this, the three of them heading to the living room in good spirits. Daria simply slipped her hand out of her pocket. She scanned the room, observing the who' who in the room while Jane and Andrea discreetly started sketching people. In the center of the room Brittany held court with her cheerleaders and football players, Kevin sitting to the side obliviously eating chips as she prattled on. She also saw the way Kevin's eyes would linger on certain girls, though he did so in a way Brittany wouldn't notice.

Nearby two African-American teens were chatting quietly nearby, Daria recognizing the two of them as Mack and Jamie. The two looked over and saw her looking at them, to which she gave them a polite nod, considering the two were a large percentage of the few smart kids in the school. Mack nodded back politely enough while Jodie tried to do the same, although it seemed more forced. Daria simply shrugged her shoulders and turned away, observing the remaining people..

To the side she saw members of the fashion fiends talking and pointing out people, either praising or criticizing them. When Sandy turned and pointed at her and her friends she had no illusions which activity they were doing to them. _Interesting, the fashion queen and clueless are off on their insult rant. The other brown haired girl isn't here either…Which means my little sister is all alone._

"Hey Daria, look who's decided to play the field?" Jane said bumping her elbow against Daria, pointing at Jennifer and Jamie talking with each other in the corner. Jamie who had been drinking a soda accidently choked on it a little, before looking up embarrassed. Jennifer simply laughed in a good nature, patting the teen on his shoulder. Daria gave a small smirk when she looked closer and saw who the male was. "That's one of the football drones my **dear** sister is trying to train into an obedient puppy. I'm guessing the indoctrination process isn't going as well as she thought."

"Yeah, I think she just noticed as well." Andrea said with a frown, watching as Quinn was watching the two from the hallway, a large frown on her face. As the redhead started heading towards the two Daria stepped away from the wall, quickly stepping in her way.

"Geeeez Daria are you trying to ruin me. Go away." Daria shook her head, looking over at the redhead and began whispering. "I know what you're thinking Quinn, and I'm only going to give you one warning. Step away." Quinn simply scoffed, moving as if to walk by only for Daria to take her by the arm and put her head next to hers, whispering in her ear. "That girl is my friend Quinn, and you will not interfere just because one of you would-be puppets is speaking with her."

"You can't tell me what to do Daria, I will do what I want." Quinn hissed back at her, aware that most of the eyes in the room were focused on the pair. "Do it if you wish, but you of all people should remember what I'm capable of."

Quinn turned pale at this as unwanted memories surfaced in her mind. "Y-You wouldn't dare." Quinn said in a shaky voice. Daria simply leaned closer, her mouth almost right next to her ear. "Oh but I would Quinn. There's never been any love lost between the two of us, and while I might not physically hurt you out of respect to Helen and Jake, I can make your life miserable in other ways. So, just try and test my patience."

Saying this Daria stepped away, giving Quinn a clear path towards Jamie and Jennifer. Quinn for her part was stuck for a moment not making a move, before eventually exhaling in frustration, walking back towards the kitchen.

Daria turned back to walk to Jane, only to see most of the eyes in the room focused on her. She scanned the eyes looking at her, most of them turning their gaze away. The only ones who didn't were Sandy, Jodie, Brittany, Mack and Kevin. To be fair though the last was more oblivious than the others were.

Before anything could happen there was a harsh knocking on the door. "POLICE, DON'T ANYBODY MOVE!" Automatically the teens inside the house took off, heading for any window, door or exit available to them. Seconds after the teens panicked the cops barged in, yelling for them to stop. Jeffy who at that moment had been bringing Quinn a drink was tackled to the floor.

"Come on." Daria said, grabbing Jane and Andrea as the three ran out of the house. "What about her highness?" Andrea said as the three left.

"Quinn's been doing this for years, if she's not out already she will be. Now let's go grab Jennifer and dash." The three girls headed out the back as the cops moved in. They were out in the backyard and going through the hedges when they heard Jennifer and Jamie yelp. Peering through the bushes they saw the two teens being held down by a large cursing guard.

"Shit, they got Jen, what do we do? Daria? Daria what are you?" Jane said in a hushed voice as the brunette haired girl walked forward. "Get to the street and get us a ride out of here. I'm going to get Jen." Saying this Daria began walking quietly to the side while Andrea began pulling on Jane. Jane didn't want to leave the girl buy herself, but after a tug from the larger girl she found herself following Andrea. _I hope you know what you're doing Daria. I don't have the cash to bail you out._

"Let me go, I haven't done anything?" Jennifer growled as she lay on the ground, her and Jamie pinned beneath the large cop. Her hair was splayed out, ironically covering both her and Jamie's face "If you didn't do anything you wouldn't be running, now shut up while I get out your ID and frisk you." The cop said with a grimace on his face.

With his knee on Jamie's back and one hand holding down Jennifer he took his other hand and went for her pocket. As his hand slipped into her pocket he heard someone step up behind him.

"Who's the-AAAAAAUGGH!" The cop yelled out as Daria sprayed him in the eyes with mace before applying a Taser to his neck, knocking the man to the side. "Get up Burnout, we're leaving."

"D-D-" Daria put her hand on Jennifer's shoulder, silencing her before she said her name. "Don't say anything, just grab your friend and let's go." As Jennifer helped Jamie up Daria noticed the cop was holding something in his hand. Thinking he might be calling for backup she ran up to him quickly, delivering a swift kick to his stomach, causing the cop to crumple over. She reached over and plucked the item from the man's hand, before hearing yelling directed at her coming from the house.

"**Come on!**" Daria said to the two running towards the road as cops began coming out of the house. The three of them ran through the bushes, jumping through bushes and over fences as the cop's voices began drawing closer. The three of them made it out of the gated community, coming out under a streetlight .

"OVER HERE!" Jane yelled from the back of a red mustang with Upchuck waving them over. Daria and the others made it in, the brunette girl jumping into the passenger seat and ducking down. "Drive Charles, NOW!"

Charles floored it out of there just as the cops made it through the hedges. They rounded the corner, Daria watching as the cops began yelling into their radios. Jennifer and Jane immediately fell back in their seats, both of them breathing in relief as they rested on Andrea and Jamie respectively. "Th-That…That …was-"

"Insane." Jane said, shaking her head at how quickly things had gone south. "Daria, what did you do to that cop? I heard him yell all the way from in the car."

"Nothing he won't make a full recover from. At least physically, Charles pull off the road over there and head towards the river." The redhead did as he was told, admittedly somewhat fearfully. It was only a minute after he did this that a series of cop cars shot by the road they were on, red and blue lights blazing. Once they were far enough away from town Daria had Charles stop, got out and began walking towards the river. She stopped about three feet from the car and turned back.

"Jen, I believe you left this back at the scene." Daria said pulling the girls wallet out of her pocket. Jennifer felt both embarrassed and relieved to see the wallet, while Andrea nearly choked at the potentially incriminating evidence. Clearing her throat Jennifer took the wallet back and said thanks, albeit in a quiet ton.

Once that was dealt with Daria walked away from the car about a hundred yards and stood on the bank of the river. Being it was fall the river had reduced to a stream but that served Daria's purposes just fine. Pulling the Taser and mace out of her pocket she looked at them for a moment before cocking her arm back and tossing them in the river.

"Daria." Daria turned around and saw Jane standing behind her. Daria sighed and walked up to her "I suppose this is when you either ask me what I was thinking or how I could do what I did?" These tended to be the questions asked of her whenever she got in trouble (not that her mother knew the full extent of the things she had done).

"Normally yes, but you did what you did to get Jennifer out of there, so I don't really care. Plus it must have been cool getting to use those, even if it was ironic who the target was. Still, are you worried the fuzz might be looking for you?" Jane asked concern in her voice.

"No, the cop never saw me and those chasing me were only able to see a running girl, no way to prove that I wasn't just another teen fleeing the party crashers. Plus the last of the useable evidence just got washed away." Daria said, giving a small smile before starting to walk back towards the car.

"Still it was too bad we didn't get to enjoy the popularity life for much longer, something tells me we're not going to be invited to another party." Daria chuckled at this, hands behind her back. "I accomplished what I wanted to do, avoided jail time and escaped with assault. All in all I'm going to call it a win."

"Too bad you can't threaten Upchuck with the Taser anymore." Daria shrugged her shoulders at this as they saw the car begin to clear through the trees. "Perhaps, but I'm sure I can think of some other way to keep him in line. The boy might be useful to have as an acquaintance. Plus he seems to be intelligent once you get past the sleaze." Jane stopped walking and turned to her, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Why Daria, would you happen to be attracted to our local pervert and stalker?" Daria raised an eyebrow at this, before getting a mischievous glint in her eye. "I suppose it could be possible if it wasn't for one thing."

"Which is…?" Jane said in anticipation, expecting a cutting remark towards the red-haired teen. "I suppose that would be my lack of attraction towards the male gender in general."

If Daria had a camera on her she would have been snapping pictures by the dozen, Jane's expression was priceless. "Wait-Your-I mean, uh…"

"I'll give you a hint, it starts with an L and somewhat rhymes with plebian." Jane snapped out of her funk, chuckling a little. "I suppose this explains why you haven't fallen for any of the pieces of meat in our school." Daria scoffed and began walking again, the two heading towards the car.

"Please, even if I did swing that way I prefer at least some brain swishing between those ears, and I'm not the submissive type in the least. Plus the story of the Jock and the brain getting together, that only happens in the movies." Daria said about 30 yards from the car.

"Hey whatever floats your boat Ms. Morgendorffer, that just opens up the field for me. So, have you seen anyone with potential-"

"No" Daria said cutting the girl off. "There's no one at the moment who's personality and sexual orientation I would be interested in. Are you sure I can't try to convert you?" Jane acted as if she was contemplating this at first, before shaking her head in the negative.

"Sorry my dark mistress, but I enjoy bending and breaking the male species too much to switch teams. Thanks for the offer though." Reaching the car the two got in, Daria sitting back in the shotgun seat near Upchuck. "The heat should be off by now Charles, if you would take us home."

"As you wish my stunning dear. We will be there in a two shakes and a hop." Turning the key Charles drove off, the warm fall wind wafting over the tired teens. "Oh by the way..." Upchuck said, drawing Daria's attention.

"I believe your sister might still be at the party, we can return and pick her up if you wish?"

Daria shook her head and laid back, eyes halfway closed in exhaustion. "That won't be necessary, Quinn got a ride there she can get one back. My job was to watch her, not play taxi cab driver."

"A pity, but I suppose I will have to meet the red-haired beauty at another time. Such is fate."

The car sped down the road, Up chuck and the others never noticing a certain red-haired girl walking down the road by herself, muttering about how much of a disaster the night had been. The car hit a puddle, splashing the girls shoes and soaking her lower legs, causing the girl to scream in frustration.

Daria only noticed her in the passenger side mirror as they rounded the corner. Smiling she closed her eyes as the night ended perfectly.

* * *

**Whoop that took a long time to write, sorry about the delay but school kind of held me up for a bit. I'm going to try to make the chapters a little shorter as well. I hope you liked the character interactions, as well as Daria's ****_preference_****. I'm not entirely sure who she'll end up with if she does end up with anyone, but I'm open to suggestions. The only thing I'm saying is it will not be DariaxJane or with any male character. Thank you to those who have been reviewing my stories and I'll see you at the next update. Have a great week.**


	4. Chapter 4: College Empires

The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."

-Tom Bodett

**Episode 3: **

"Ramoona, Goo-Goo Ga-Ga." Daria sat back and watched as Quinn attempted to be cute and loving to their little blond haired cousin as they sat in some distant relatives house. Ramona who was holding a tiny book walked up to Quinn, her tiny nose sniffling a little bit. _Teenage queen ^#*$ vs. a 2 year old girl. A real battle of the minds here. _Ramona suddenly sneezed on Quinn's leg, drawing a disgusted eeww out of her and a large grin on Daria's face. _Ten points to Ramona._

"Now Daria is more of a late bloomer socially, and there's nothing wrong with that." Helen said to the younger couple, Daria simply rolling her eyes at the comment.

The little girl shambled over to Helen and climbed up next to her, handing her a book. "Read me." The little girl said with a look that would break melt even the coldest heart. Helen smiled warmly picking up the book. "Of course sweetie, what are you reading?" Helen turned the book over, confused by the title of S.A.T's for children.

"We're trying to get our little girl ready for school as soon as she's ready. I mean it's hard enough to get into a good school now." The mother said as she picked up Ramona, placing her on her lap. _Yes, as opposed to letting her have a normal childhood, this is much better._ The next words to come out of the young couples mouth broke her inner monologue, the promise of a future headache to come.

"So what are you doing to get them ready for college?"

The drive back home was silent, Jake and Helen sitting in the front while Quinn and Daria sat in the back. Daria knew she was already doomed, might as well get some fun out of it.

"One more time: I am not taking a college prep course. Actually, I may just skip college and stay home. It'll save me the trouble of moving back in later." Jake's eyes widened almost comically at this, his hands giving a jerk which almost put him on the other side of traffic. **"WHATCH THE ROAD! **Daria, if you don't get into a good school your life will be ruined, end of discussion."

"Way to go mom." Quinn chimed in, still somewhat sore about the party incident last week. "She can't have her way all the time." Daria simply raised an eyebrow in amusement, sitting back to watch her sister's blunder play out. Rule one in parent/sibling relationships, if your parent is disciplining one child it's best to be quiet and stay out of the way.

"Actually, Quinn, it wouldn't hurt if you took the course too." Helen said in response to Quinn's attempt to chisel her sister. "Wait a minute!" Quinn said out, only stopping at Helen's glare.

Of course Daria was there to fill the silence, as well as throw salt on the wound.

"Maybe we can sit together."

* * *

Despite the joy she took from watching Quinn do her best to remain incognito in the college prep course she found herself bored out of her mind. She could understand her parents wanting her to get prepared for college, but whatever convinced them to enroll the two in the high school course was beyond her. Not to mention the teacher was young, good looking but obviously reading from script. So the chance of her learning something she needed to was slim. Still for her friends who had been roped into this class, it could be potentially useful.

"Today's admission standards are more rigorous than ever, which is why..."

"Can we get on with this? I have someplace to go." Jane said sitting to Daria's left. Jodie who was sitting nearby gave the girl a questioning look, Jane simply shrugging her shoulders. "TV counts as a place."

"Okay okay, this is an informational sheet 'Push Comes to Love' sends around to 600 leading colleges. It's called My Personal Goals and Aspirations. Let's all talk about college..."

Daria began to tone the teachers voice out as she wrote on the questionnaire. The questions were loaded, with certain answers being more acceptable than others. Within five minutes she had written the paper out and from there had discreetly taken out a diary under her desk and began writing. Jane who had just come out of her little day dream looked over at her new best friend, curious about what she was doing.

"Planning a torture session for our teach, Taser Lass?" Daria frowned at the nickname, since the incident with the cop a few weeks back the girls would occasionally call her that nickname in commemoration of her triumph over the donut cop. While it had been amusing at first now it felt kind of old.

_How does Jennifer stand being referred to as burnout?_ "Yes, but I'm also making sure to right mmy thoughts and feelings in the borders as doodles."

"Ohh la la." Jane said as she leaned forward, a smirk coming on her lips as she leaned to the left. "An insight to the mind of Daria. Tell me, if I look at the dark secrets contained within will I slowly descend into madness?"

"No, but you will after I'm finished with you if you ever try and sneak a peak Jane. Some things are meant to be private." Daria said, closing the book with a crisp motion as the bell rang. Jane frowned a little as she put her stuff away. "A little testy today Morgendorffer, another infamous Quinn/Daria battle in the mix?"

Daria shook her head, standing up as Andrea and Burnout girl came to join them. "No, it's just that this class is happening at a real bad time. I was expecting to get a call during this time."

"Why during this specific time? Can't you just call them back?" Jane said, confused by the question. Daria sighed as the group headed outside of the class. "It's more complicated then that. He's my…uncle Jimmy, and he and my mom didn't part on the best of terms. I can't call him directly because-."

"Because your detail oriented lawyer mother manages everything in the house, including the house bill." Andrea said, her black backpack slung over her shoulder. "So why don't you just make the call at Jane's place?"

Daria stopped walking, a surprised look on her face before continuing to walk, her face in slight embarrassment. "I'm such an idiot, why didn't I think of that?"

"Because your human? I think you are anyway." Jane laughed as the girls exited the school. "Look your coming over to the house tonight to watch when Animal Pet's Turn Rogue, just go and make the phone call once you come over. Speaking of which Jen, Andrea are you coming over?"

The goth nodded her head yes, but surprisingly Jennifer shook her head no. "I'm sorry, I have some…_things_ I have to do tonight. I'll see you guys tomorrow though alright?" Daria and the other two looked at each other before nodding to her, watching as she went off on her skate board.

Andrea and Jane looked at each other and shrugged before walking away, but Daria lingered for a moment, a curious expression on her face. "Have either of you ever been to Jennifer's house? Or seen her with her family?"

The two girls shook their head no, an action that made Daria's eyebrows frown. She didn't say anything anymore, but the frown didn't leave her face.

* * *

"So we filled out this worksheet and that was pretty much it. Money well spent, since it wasn't my money." Daria said as she adjusted one of the rings on her hand, preparing herself for another meal of Lasagna and pre-mixed salad.

"You left out the best part." Quinn said sitting back in her chair. Daria rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her lasagna. "A date with the instructor is only the best part for you."

"It's not a date." Quinn said with a clueless glare. "Were meeting to discuss scholarship options."

"Scholarship? Way to go, sweetie." Jake said having come out of his usual clueless state for a few seconds. Daria looked at the two feeling somewhat in despair. _To think I came from the same gene pool_

"There's no such thing as a making-out scholarship." Daria said, both to Quinn as much as Jake in the tiny hope it would penetrate their skulls. No such luck.

"Uh, excuse me, but I think he would know better than you. Anyway, the best part, I meant, was the trip." Helen having just sat down look at the two girls, interest in her eyes. "What trip?"

"We have to visit a college of our choosing." Quinn said, a grin spread across her face. This was wiped off by her mother's next comment.

"Great! We'll go to Middleton!" Jake immediately brightened at the mention of his former college. "Hey yeah, we'll all head up to the old alma mater this weekend!"

Daria felt her face fall a little at the mention of the school. Her father had talked it up for years so a few years back she looked it up. From what she could tell it wasn't very promising, tuition was unnaturally high while the actual value of the education had been plummeting. And the way it had been going, it wasn't likely to be reversing.

"Wait a minute, **we** get to pick the school, and nobody said you could come." Quinn said, clearly having expected to be walking around the campus herself.

"But Quinn, your father and I would love it if you kids followed in our footsteps." Helen said, images of her time in college passing through her head.

"We're WALKING?! UGGHHH!" Quinn stormed off, a nasty snarl on her face. "You know." Daria said drawing her parents attention to her. "I hate to agree with Ms. Anti-Brain, but Quinn has a point. It should be up to us which college we get to visit. Especially since the alternative is going to Middleton."

"But kiddo, Middleton is a great college, it's where your mother and I met and where she got her master degree." Jake said, memories of college and freedom filtering through his mind. "Well." Daria said before her father could get to lost in the past. "As much as I am grateful for you two meeting, considering it's how I exist, I'd rather not go to Middleton. In the past it was a good school but now it's gone down in terms of it's academics and up in terms of tuition and other expenses. I'd rather go to a school I might be applying for in the future like Raft or Vance." Helen sighed, seeing her daughters point but knowing she would have to disappoint her.

"Raft is in Boston which is a four hour round trip at minimum, and Vance is even further away in New York. I'm sorry dear, but we simply can't travel that far east in one day. It's either Middleton or Lawndale State honey." Daria frowned at this, but saw that it would be pointless to argue it. "Alright, fine. I'm heading over to Jane's, I should be back before ten."

Daria stood up and began walking from the table, grabbing her backpack from where it lay on the wall and headed towards the door. Helen felt guilt build up inside of her, Daria rarely asked for anything and when it was something this important, she hated to say no.

"Daria?" The named teen turned back from the door to see her mother standing up from her place at the table, near the archway of the dining room. "I'm sorry we can't go to Boston Daria, if I wasn't so swamped for work I would take us there. I promise you, the next time you ask me to do something consider it done."

Daria was surprised by her mother, usually she was very adamant on these decisions and was surprised to seeing her give away something like this. Daria gave her mother a nod and a half smile opening the door. "I'm going to hold you to that Mom. I'll see you both later."

As the door shut Helen felt both relief and anxiety at that sentence. Relief because she had helped Daria feel better, and anxiety because she just gave her daughter considerable leverage. _Oh well, I'm sure whatever she asks me for won't be to much._

* * *

Daria walked up to the front of the Lane house and saw a note on the front of the door. Taking out her phone she held it up and read.

-_Daria, Andrea cancelled on me and my brother needed help with a gig tonight. Please feel free to use the phone though, I'll see you tomorrow._

_ -Jane_

Daria crumpled the note and put it in her pocket. She looked around to see if anyone was watching before going into the house. Last thing she wanted was somebody seeing her and mistaking her for a burglar.

Sitting on the couch she picked up the phone, but put it down when she felt something sticky. Putting her finger to her nose she took a sniff, recognizing the smell of peanut. _Guess Trent had a sandwich today. Or at least sometime close to today._ Carefully she wiped the peanut butter off the phone with a napkin from the table, before dialing it and putting it to her ear.

The phone rang three times, like it always did before a familiar voice answered the phone. "Yeah? Who's calling?" Daria smirked at the question/response, having missed it after nearly a month.

"I see your etiquette is still the same Tony, I thought Jimmy would have had you trained by now." Tony on the other end laughed, his brisk tone becoming more friendly. "Daria good to hear from you. Hold on a sec, the boss just walked in." There was the sound of muffled voices and the phone being passed from one hand to the other.

"Hey kid it's good to see your still kicking. How's Lawndull treating you?" Daria smirked at the nickname for the town, she'd have to share that with Jane later. "Better than I thought Jimmy, believe it or not I've actually met some people with half a brain. I even got invited to a party."

"Yeah Dinozzo told me about that. Apparently he supplied you with some self-defense items…and then apparently some cop got assaulted with these later in the evening. Wasn't that little bit risky kid?" The remark was said warmly, but also said in a manner that demanded explanation. Daria felt her cheeks blush at this, despite not even being in front of the man.

"Didn't exactly have a choice Jimmy, it was either him or my friends. One of them has a….side business that isn't looked upon very highly by society. At least not openly" On the other end Jimmy laughed a little, Daria's brow scrunching together in frustration at it. "I know you didn't kid, and don't worry from what Dinozzo's contacts say the cop never saw who took him down. I'm just saying to be careful, these cops are a little sharper than the yokels back here in Highland."

"Speaking of which." Daria said changing the topic. "How are things going back in Highland? Hopefully the town is being destroyed in an invasion of Cyber boars or from a massive food poisoning epidemic.." Jimmy snorted a little, although somehow on him it sounded sophisticated. "No such luck unfortunately, Highland still hot and still as boring as you remember. Besides, it's not as much fun playing Chess anymore without a proper challenge. So anything coming up for you kid?"

"Actually yes." Daria said settling back in the couch. "My parents are dragging us to their old alma mater Middleton College in the hope it will magically prepare us for college. In lieu of a savings account or education fund. In any case it'll only be for one day, from what I've heard the school was a cesspool before the recession struck."

"Middleton College you say?" Jimmy said, an interested tone set in his voice. "Is your side business friend going with you?" Daria shrugged her shoulders, before scolding herself since he couldn't see her. "I don't know, should she be?"

"Yeah, my buddy Dinozzo has his nephew in that place, he works in the bursar's office. They do a bunch of renovation and other projects down there. Bring her along Daria, I'll get you and your friend set up there in the campus." Daria smiled at this, even as her mind went into business mode. "Okay, how much of a percentage do you want?"

"5% of the gross, which will come out of the 15% that you'll pay to Mr. Dinozzo." Jimmy said before the sound of him taking a sip of tea could be heard on the other end. "That can be arranged, but I'd also like to get this money cleaned for my friend and I. I'd need one dummy account set up for me, while I'd need two set up for my friend. One account should be a fake inheritance account set up directly for her and be where the first charge goes, while the next one would be for future deposit's. Could Mr. Dinozzo handle this for me as well?"

"Hmm." The line was silent for a moment as Jimmy pondered on this. "Certainly, but he'll charge you ten percent of all money washed clean, as well as a subcharge of $2000 dollars for every transaction. However if your friend has any money saved up I could convince him to waive the fee for this first amount, in exchange for a favor."

"Which is?" Daria said, a little hesitant and curious at what she might be asked. "I don't know yet, using favors is like playing a hand in poker, you don't play them unless you either need to or it's in your favor to do so. Do we have a deal kid?"

"I'll have to convince my friend first, but yes we have a deal. In return for a favor of my own." Daria couldn't seeit but Jimmy smiled on the other end as if expecting it. "And what would that favor be?"

"I need the address of my friend, I haven't been to her place yet and I need to check on something myself. I'd also like a background check on her as well as her family."

"Interesting, seems mundane for you but I suppose there's more to this situation. I'd ask you why but I figure you have a right to your secrets. Send me her name and I'll forward the info to your phone by Saturday afternoon, I'll also arrange things with Dinozzo. It was good to hear from you Daria, we all miss you and good luck with your new business kid."

"Yeah…you to Jimmy." Daria said in a said voice before Jimmy hung up the phone. Placing the phone back on the holder she stared into the darkness of the lining room for awhile before slipping back out of the house and heading home.

* * *

The next day Daria came up to Jennifer at her locker, face set in a neutral expression. The blonde girl was getting ready for the last period and didn't seem to notice her.

"Hey Jen, you got a minute to talk?" The blond girl nodded as she took her books out of her locker, putting them inside her bag. "Yeah, but you'll have to make it quick, I have math to go to and then I have to get home and make some business deliveries."

"Math class can wait Jen, Mr. Ewing won't notice your gone anyways. And I have some questions for you." Daria drawled leaning up against the locker. "I have a business proposition to discuss with you, I figured we'd head to your house to discuss it."

Jennifer looked nervous at this, her hand shutting the door to her locker. "Umm can we do it someplace else, my parents…they don't know about my side business and I'd rather they didn't find out."

Daria felt her face frown, but knew it wasn't the time to press her on it. Not without exact information in any case. "Alright, the girls bathroom then." The two walked into it and waited until it was empty before locking the door. Jennifer was going to talk but Daria held up a hand for her to wait, hopping up onto the sink and reaching into the corner where a camera was, unplugging it before sitting down. "Well now that Li is no longer part of the conversation you ready to hear me out? We should have at least ten minutes before she notices."

"Sure Daria, what's up?" Jen said hopping and taking a seat on the sink next to her.

"I've got a contact at Middleton College I'd like you to meet with. He represents some people interested in us doing business there, and maybe on other campuses if we do well enough. We'd have to pay them a percentage but in exchange they'll also help clean your money. And it would give you a new market to sell any excess product you'd happen to produce. You interested?"

Jen put her hand in her chin, thinking about it for a moment. After a bit she looked up with a smile and nodded her head. "Yeah I guess I owe you for last weekend with the cop, and if you trust them so will I. How much do you want for your share?"

"Hmm 10% will be acceptable, this way you'll be pulling in 75% of the net. Any money you have stored up bring to the meeting and they'll clean it for free the first time. All future deposits will come with a service fee and a ten percent fee."

Jennifer nodded at this, reaching a hand out to Daria. Daria stared at it for a moment before realizing what she wanted, reaching out and shaking it in turn. "Awesome, thanks Daria. We'll, since I've already missed the first half of class I might as well miss the rest of it. I'll be at your house in the morning in time to leave okay?" Daria nodded her head, the two unlocking the door and slipping down the hall and out the main door just as Principal Li and a security guard came around the corner.

"That's alright Jen, I wouldn't want you to have to walk all the way from your house, how about you head home and get your things, then spend the night at my house." Jennifer looked at the girl in surprise, then smiled in a relieved manner. "Yeah, I'll just swing by to ask my parents and then I'll be over in a bit."

* * *

Daria and Jennifer were seated next to each other at the dinner table, the former reading her newspaper while the latter was surprisingly tearing into one of Jake's attempts at cooking, something that immensely pleased the man. Quinn for her part was doing her best to ignore, eating as little as necessary than heading up to her room, phone glued to her ear. She had just left when Helen came through the front door, shoulders slumped from a hard days work.

"Sorry to be late, but Eric wanted me to go over a few clauses in the contract and I had to constantly…oh hello there." Helen said spotting the leather wearing blond girl at the table. Daria lowered her newspaper gesturing off to the side. "Mom, this is my friend Jennifer Burns, she wanted to go to Middleton but her parents couldn't take her. Is it okay if she comes with us?"

Helen beamed at this, sitting down in the empty chair left by Quinn. "Of course it's alright dear, I'm actually pleased to get a chance to know one of your friends. So, Jennifer right?" The blonde girl nodded her head, having finished swallowing down the unspeakable horror. "Yes mam?"

A glint appeared in Helens eye, one Daria had seen on the days when Helen was going to close a tough deal. "Tell me about yourself Jennifer, Daria doesn't have her friends over often and I'd like to get to know you."

After what seemed like to the girls hours Helen had allowed the two to leave the table, satisfied that Jennifer was okay. Now the two sat in the room as Daria got a sleeping roll out for the blonde girl. "Sorry about the interrogation, my mother meant well but it's hard for her to get past the lawyer persona at times."

"Not a problem, they're letting me stay the night and they fed me, so they have a right to be a little curious." Daria smirked at this, tossing a pillow from her bed to the girl, who had changed into a pair of plaid pajama pants with a white shirt. "You're the first person I've met who could actually stomach my dad's food, if it wasn't for our new partnership I'd harvest your stomach for science. But speaking of business, we have to get ready for tomorrow."

Jennifer nodded, immediately walking over to Daria's closet and opening the door, pulling a non-descript backpack out from behind a piece of the padded wall.

"What's the total sum of the money collected, that way I can give a full accounting to the Bursar as well as my contact?" Jennifer grinned at that, patting the side of the non-descript gymbag she took out of the closet, having stashed it before opening it up and pulling a square plastic wrapped cube of bills out. "100,450 dollars, my earnings for the last year and a half. You'd be amazed the amount of money that one can make with the right contacts. It'll be nice to actually be able to use this money outside of pizza."

_If my suspicions are right, it won't be the only way it's used in the future._ Daria snapped out of her own thoughts and nodded, indicating for the girl to set the money on the table. "We can't bring the money in like that, we can't risk campus police searching us then deciding to **_confiscate_**the bag for our own good. So we're going to have to improvise."

"Improvise?" Jennifer said, looking confused by the comment. Daria sighed, reaching over to her desk and pulling out a thick hard copy of the Webster dictionary. As well as a small pocket knife and some sticky magnets. "Yes but before we do that I must first offer an apology to the god of knowledge and my fellow Brains for the sacrilege I'm about to commit."

* * *

The ride had been a short one, thankful that Helen had decided to drive and Jake slept in the shotgun seat, sparing the rest of the group from road songs. Upon arrival the five of them walked across the campus, taking in the sight of young adults slacking off. After watching her dad make a fool of himself they came across a red haired girl in a yellowish white jacket waiting for them.

"Hi, are you the Morgendorffers? I'm your tour guide, Heather. Welcome to Middleton." The girl said in that chipper voice students could always tell was fake but adults just seemed oblivious to.

Hey, Heather. What's up?" Jake said in a failed attempt to sound cool and suave. The girl only rolled her eyes in response, turning away with a good hearted smile.

"Uh... shall we get started?" Heather walked the group through the campus, pointing out the various buildings and their signifigance (or actual lack of). She stopped momentarily to point out a small cluster of buildings, sticking out amongst the new age buildings like a sore old thumb.

"These buildings date from when Middleton was a colonial religious college. Back then, the all-male student body attended chapel twice a day, and endured whippings as punishment for impure thoughts." It was at this point that a water balloon almost hit the group, coincidently being Jake's old college dorm, drawing the two parents away.

_Parents lost in the memories of their youth, check. Now to ditch redhead without getting into trouble later._ Fortunately Daria was saved from this by Quinn asking where the sorority's were located. A one block walk later and the fashion annoyance was off her back. Still it was better to make sure not to leave a potential powder keg near a furnace.

"Heather, just to ask she'll be fine here right?" Heather nodded her head, a cigarette hanging between her lips. "Physically she'll be fine, the Theta's may be self-righteous bitches but they make sure to keep their freshman safe. As to her confidence and self-esteem-

"I'm not concerned about that, as long as she doesn't end up in a body bag she can suffer as she see's fit." Daria said, with Jennifer stifling a snigger behind her hand. Heather had no such inhibitions, laughing out and fixing her with a small smirk. "Good to see your well versed in sarcasm, believe me it will save you later on. Let's get out of here this place gives me the creeps. We can go hang out in my dorm till your parents come looking for you."

"Normally I'd go for that, but we have to meet with the bursar for part of our class assignment. Could you walk us there? We can meet up with you at the dorm later." Daria asked the girl. Heather nodded her head in response. "Sure, let's get going."

* * *

"So this is what college is like huh? I could get used to this." Andrea said as she and Jane were lazing about on a blanket in front of one of the Lawndale dorms, the two of them close to snoozing as they sat next to their guide. The girl nodded her head, passing out the complimentary sandwiches to the two girls as they sat back.

"Yeah unless your one of those college hardcore eggheads, or a med or pre-law student college is a bit of a breeze. Ten hours in class a week at most with the rest of your time to yourself, minus homework and nap time. Plus you get to party the weekend away." The girl said before taking a bite of her roast beef. Jane nodded her head sleepily, watching as a group of half drunk fraternity guys stumbled by, one of them being half dragged by two of his buddies. "And with all the idiots and posers I could get some great ideas for sketches."

She and the other girls chuckled as they sat back and relaxed, enjoying the true college experience.

While her other friends were enjoying themselves back in Lawndale, a sentence that would have drawn a snort from her, Daria and Burnout found themselves sitting outside the bursar's office. Heather had just dropped them off and they promised that they would meet up with them later. Daria looked over at the blode girl, noticing her hands were gripping her backpack a little tightly.

"Relax Jen, we go in and give basic information of how we will be operating. We then hand him the parcel, he gives us the account information and we walk out." The blonde girl nodded her head in response, loosening her grip on her backpack and giving Daria a tight smile. "S-Sorry."

Daria smiled in turn, giving the girl a soft squeeze on the shoulder. "It's not a problem Jen, just let me do most of the talking except in regards to growing processes. Oh and no names, the people who need to know who we are already do."

Before the Jennifer could respond the door to the office opened, a small eep coming out from the girls mouth. "Hello Ms. D. and B., please come on in." A man said from the doorway, the two girls walking in."

Inside the office it was cramped to the walls with paperwork, folders and a desk, with two chairs barely set in front of it. Behind the desk sat a thin man, his obvious tupee set to try and cover his balding head. "Ah thank you young ladies for being prompt. I'm Christopher Dinozzo, bursar of Middleton College. My uncle said we are getting into business together, I look forward to it." The man reached forward with a hand to shake, one Daria hesitantly returned.

"Well." Christopher said sitting back as the two girls sat down. "I have been given the basic details of what you'll be doing business in, but I would like to be told some of the details if you don't mind."

"Alright, but only basic details, the less you know the better it will be for everybody. We'll be doing _business_ indirectly with those already set up to cater to the college kids. We'll be indirectly supplying these individuals with product which they will then distribute. Every now and then we will bring a parcel to be cleaned and transferred, from which you will take your families end as well as subcharge for the cleaning. These parcels after today will never be delivered by us, nor will we meet again after this meeting" Daria said, indicating to Jennifer to hand her her backpack over.

Reaching in she pulled out the Webster dictionary, opening it up to reveal the inside hollowed out, removing the cash and handing it over the desk. "This is the first package, just over a hundred g's, now do you have the information we need?" Christopher nodded, reaching behind him and handing her a folder, which Daria began skimming. "Three accounts set up, as per your instructions. The money should be transferred by the next business day since you told us in advance, however future transactions will take more time in order to transfer through properly. Now tell me a little bit about the product itself."

At this Daria indicated to Jennifer, who began speaking as only an expert can. "The product is grown in a controlled and hidden environment, far away from the view of the local police. The operation is completely organic, no chemicals or outside sources that might otherwise taint the product. You also wont have to worry about us in regards to more exotic or dangerous drugs, as we don't deal in those products. Besides that I won't say anymore."

"Well then, I think that is all that I need to hear. Good luck with your new business young ladies, I expect good things out of both of you." Christopher said, putting the money into a safe before standing up. "Thank you sir, and give our regards to your uncle for us." Daria said, as the two girls stood up and shook hands with him. Finished with their business the two walked out, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, the two girls hanging in Heather's dorm room until the time came to find the rest of the clan. Where they got to enjoy watching Quinn and her parents get chewed out by the local police. The ride home was quiet with her parents illusions of college having been shattered, Quinn staring off dreamily from the car and Jennifer passed out on her shoulder. It was just as they were pulling back into Lawndale close to midnight that her phone gave off a ding, Daria pulling it out to read the email sent by Jimmy. Her face visibly darkened at what she was reading, a frown that Helen caught sight of in the rear view mirror.

"Daria, sweety, is everything alright?" Daria shook her head, looking up at her mother. "Mom, can we go to Jennifer's house please? It's over on Pine Brook road near Lover's Quarry." Helen was going to ask her why, when she saw the rare look of concern on her face. "of course dear, it's on the way home anyway."

Driving towards the house they passed by the abandoned quarry and into the lower end of Lawndale. As they drove further and further into the area the houses got older, more dilapidated. Eventually Daria saw the house that was listed and asked her mother to stop the car.

If the houses they had passed by were in bad shape, Jennifer's was downright abysmal. The windows were smashed in, small boards and rags having been put over them in order to keep out the wind. Much of the siding was cracked or torn off and the paint had long since peeled away to reveal the rotting wood beneath. Worst of all though was the way the house seemed to _slump_ inwards, it looked like the house could collapse at any minute.

"Uhgh, who would choose to live in this dump?" Quinn said with her usual amount of candor. "Quinn.." Daria growled threateningly, however she stopped when seeing Jennifer rise from her slumber. "Are we at the school?" The blonde girl said wearily, rubbing her eyes open.

What awaited her when she got her sight back was Daria giving her a cold stare, her dilapidated house sitting behind her in the distance. "Mom, Jen and I are going to go have a quick talk in her house, we'll be out in a minute." With that Daria unbuckled and opened the door, ushering her friend out of the car and into the house. Helen had felt like going after her, but something in her tone made her stop. The way she had spoken to her, it reminded Helen of her mother when she had disciplined her and her two sisters as kids. The tone brooked no argument and made it clear it wasn't a request so much as a command.

It was times like these she could honestly admit her daughter intimidated her.

* * *

Inside the house the damage seemed even worse than it did on the outside, though it was hard to tell. The walls were filled with holes in and tears, the source of which was hard to tell, while what little furniture was inside was old and broken down. Looking around what amounted to the living room they had walked into, Daria saw that this also served as the bedroom, a mothy old blanket stretched across the couch.

"So Jen, where are your parents right now, the ones who gave you permission to come with me. Because judging from the state of this house it seems that I owe them an ass kicking." Daria said with a frown as she actually saw a mouse scitter across the floor and into a hole in the wall.

"Daria I know it, this looks bad." Jennifer said trying to placate her friend. "But with how the job market is my parents have had to cut back on a few things to make ends meet."

"Such as a proper living environment for their child as an example?" Daria said pointing to a loose floor board and stomping on it, causing it to snap in two. Jennifer winced at this action, but tried going another way. "They-they work so hard Daria, two- sometimes three jobs to make ends meet. They spend so little time at the house I doubt they'd notice the damage.

Daria smiled at this for a second, impressed by the cleverness of the girls comment. _A lie is much more effective when you sprinkle it with the truth, huh Jen? To bad I peeked at the cards_. "Somehow I doubt they'll notice, considering they've been living in San Francisco while you're forced to live in this shit heap."

The color drained out of Jen's face and her exposed eye grew wide. Daria took the girl by her shoulders and walked her over to the old couch, forcibly making her sit down "How-How did you…Have you been following me?" Daria shook her head, an action that gave little comfort to the blond. "I checked up on you through means most likely legal. The warning signs were there Jen, you act fishy anytime anything relating to your home is brought up and you always wear the same clothes. I didn't know things were this bad however. Unless all of your pants have a tear in the exact same spot."

"So do you!" Jen said, a slight edge forming in her voice. "Incorrect, I wear the same types of clothes, but you wear the same change of clothes everyday, you simply wash them so we won't notice the smell." Daria snapped back.

"So what if I do, it's none of your business what I do. I didn't take you for someone to judge them for such trivial things." Daria frowned at this, arms crossed over her chest. "Don't be dense, it's my right as a friend to check in on you when you're acting strange. Now how long have you been living by yourself?"

Jennifer was going to bark something back at Daria, only to feel it wither and away and die when Daria reached up and took off her glasses. Her grey eyes, now at their normal size seemed to be piercing her in place. "Jennifer, **how long?"**

"A year and a half. One day I woke up and they were just…gone. My grandmother used to live with us, a-and she kept my mom on track. After she died though…mom just lost it. She started doing things, getting into trouble, eventually she dragged my dad into it. To be honest I wasn't even sure if they were alive until you told me." Jennifer sat down on the sink at this point, eyes starting to grow moist

Daria sighed at the girl, putting her glasses back on. "Why didn't you tell anybody? And more importantly how did nobody notice?" Jenn sniffled, wiping her sleeve across her eyes. "My parents, even when they were around never came around very much. After they left I just forged their signatures on the necessary paperwork and made what house payments I could with what was left in the account. After a while, I just got good at hiding it and pretended like nothing was wrong."

"What about your other family, I mean a grandmother, an uncle, just somebody?" Daria said grasping for straws. Jen shook her head getting more upset by the minute. "No, Mom and Dad were only children, I've never even met any of their cousins. What little they told me wasn't very reassuring. I didn't think I'd be very welcome with them, considering our- my black sheep status."

Daria looked at her friend in a rare moment of pity, before sighing and pulling the girl in for a hug. For a few minutes the two girls sat there, Jennifer crying while Daria rubbed the girls back. Eventually she pulled away and reached a hand up, brushing the last of the tears from the girls face.

"Jennifer I want you to listen to me. Go throughout the house and pack yourself a bag. Take only the things you need or that are truly important to you. Anything else you think of we can come back for later. No don't argue." Daria said as Jennifer opened a mouth to say something. "In five minutes you and I are walking out of this place, if that means I have to drag you out I will."

"And then what?" Jennifer asked looking at her friend. "I don't have anywhere to go. This is all I have, I don't w-want to end up in a foster home."

Daria frowned at this, standing the girl up. "That's not going to happen, not if my mother wants to have the right to call me her daughter. I'm going to swing it so you can live with me from now on. You can stand my father's food, so he's already in your pocket. As for my mother once I explain the situation her only concern will be financial support, and it just so happens your grandmother left you a secret college fund no one knew about. That'll settle Helen, although she'll probably try to contact any relatives you have first, as well as the police."

Jennifer looked at her stunned for a moment, before the girl gave a croaky laugh at the brunette. "I wonder why you had two accounts set up for me. You've been planning this for awhile. Before I agree to this though, I have to know why? Why are you doing this for me? Is it because we're in business new?"

Daria gave a sigh at this, eyes looking down at her shoes. "In some small part, yes I am interested in keeping you off the streets or out of the government hands, but it's not the main reason. You, Jane and Andrea are the only friends I've ever had, and I don't want to see you in trouble or unhappy. Besides, it might be nice for both of us to have a real sibling for a change. So, do you trust me?"

Jennifer took a moment to think on it, before nodding her head a smile plastered on her tear streaked face.

* * *

It had only been a few minutes since Daria and Jennifer had gone into the decrepit house, and yet already Helen felt like going in after them. This place just gave her a bad feeling and she didn't like it. She felt her arm gripping the arm rest of her seat in a vice, while Jake was lucid enough for once to be looking around the neighborhood nervously.

Just as Helen was going to leave the car she saw Daria and Jen walk out of the house, the latter carrying a duffel bag on her shoulder in a subdues manner. With a swift motion Daria opened the car and took the bag from her, tossing it in the back before guiding the girl in. "Daria honey, what's going-." Daria cut her mother off, wrapping an arm protectively around the girl while speaking to her father. "Dad, let's go home."

Jake didn't need to be told twice, with speed than was probably necessary. The ride home was short and uncomfortable, Jen seeming to cling near Daria while Helen discreetly watched the two in the back, the curiosity eating away at her. Helen's phone buzzed with a text, the lawyer pulling it out expecting it to be her boss. _We'll talk at home, away from gossipy ears._ Helen looked back at her daughter, discretion be damned but Daria seemed to not notice, speaking in a low voice to Jennifer.

Getting home Jake and Quinn both went to bed, while Daria ushered her friend to her bedroom before coming back down, finding her mother waiting for her. The woman stood at attention, arms crossed over her chest, the lawyer in her having taken over.

"Mom, remember how you said the next thing I asked for you would grant? Well, here's the deal…"

* * *

About an hour of debate Daria trudged up the stairs, tired but pleased with the conversation. Helen had grilled her for most of it, specifically how and when Daria had known about her friends living condition. Daria was truthful for the most part, explaining how her suspicions had started and the files she had been sent confirming the parental abandonment. When Helen brought up the question of both contacting her family as well as financial support, Daria told her about Jen's black sheep status as well as her "Grandmothers" college account.

Daria smiled when she saw Helen eventually consent in her arguments, but said that after contacting the police the next day if no one came forward she would begin proceeds to make herself Jen's legal guardian. Daria decided to do the _daughterly_ thing and hugged her mother while thanking her, cementing the deal.

She of course changed how she got the information, Helen didn't need to know she was still in contact with Jimmy.

Daria entered her room quietly, lest her friend was potentially sleeping. It was unnecessary however, as the blonde was sitting on her bed, boots kicked off and coat discarded.. Jennifer was still wearing her day attire and looked over at Daria, eyes weary but hopeful.

"It's all taken care of, the cops will be taking your statement in the morning but Helen agreed to let you stay, as long as none of your family comes forward for you." Daria said as she kicked off her boots before dropping down next to the girl. "I…I think I'll like that. I'll have to thank her in the morning."

Daria gave a small humph, taking her glasses off and setting them on the table. "I'd hold the thanks for a little bit, your going to have to endure a clothes shopping trip with my mother tomorrow. Try not to let her push you into anything pink and frilly."

"Eh it wont be so bad." Jennifer said barely stiffening a yawn. "It's been a while since I had any fresh clothes. It might be nice." Daria looked away at that, a little embarrassed that she had forgotten that.

"Sorry, that was insensitive of me." Jennifer simply gave a tired grin, giving a light punch to her shoulder. "Don't apologize, this is new for me to after all. I wonder if Helen would object to me bringing Jamie over here."

"You and Jamie a thing?" Daria asked as her eyes began to droop. Jennifer laughed and shook her head. "Not yet, but there is potential. Besides he's a sweet guy if a bit oblivious at times."

"At times might be a bit generous, but I'll admit he's not all muscle and testosterone. Just let me know if he needs a good kicking all right?" Daria said as she laid back on the bed.

"Daria?" Jennifer said sounding nervous all of a sudden. Daria opened her eyes, looked over at the girl, seeing her laying by her. "Yes Jen?"

The blonde hesitated for a moment before reaching over, wrapping her friend in a hug. "Thank you." With that the girl let go and turned over, closing her eyes as sleep overtaking her. With what little strength left to her Daria managed to pull up the blanket over the two and went to sleep, but not before whispering one thing.

"Don't mention it, sis."

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to update, my computer crashed and I was forced to retype this. It may be a bit before I can update again, final stretch of college to get through. I promise though if I can update I will. Hope you enjoyed this and see you **


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